From the same team that brought you the 3D tank battle (BAU August issue), namely Cupit and Cruse, comes an innovative and engaging new type of game.

The Dennis Wheatley of the title was a popular crime writer of the 30s who came up with the original idea of supplying all the relevant information and evidence anybody might need to solve a murder mystery in document form, as opposed to the conventional paperback novel format.

The authors have taken Wheatley's concept one stage further and digitised the contents of the folder, compressed the resulting images so that they fit onto two discs, and added a sample or two.

All the information is cross-referenced and is called up by clicking on it with a magnifying glass pointer - if you want to see the contents of a letter, click on its address, and so on.

In the role of detective, you weigh up all the data, scrutinise every shred of evidence and eventually reach a decision about who killed Serge Orloff. It is essential to take notes as you sift through the mounds of digitised paper extracting the useful facts from the rest of the information.

There is a mysterious terrorist connection to the murder and plenty of dirty linen has to be washed before the true chain of events leading to the killing can be followed.

I'm not going to reveal any more of the storyline and spoil your enjoyment. Once you think you've correctly solved the mystery, you can write to the publisher who will furnish you with the full solution.

The game's presentation and ease of use are both excellent; the screen fades in and out with each new document and a sampled voice tells you when a disc change is required. There are no explosions or aliens of any kind in the game and the atmosphere of intrigue is created purely through the semi-literary style of writing which the policemen all seem to have!

The fact that everything is in black and white contributes to the sense of period which the game manages to convey well.