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Regular readers will be aware as to how impressed I was with Riverdale's first release, Suds. Now hot on its heels comes the sequel, entitled oddly enough, American Suds.

Buffs of Dynasty, Dallas, Hill Street Blues and the rest will find all their favourite characters here, albeit in slightly disguised form - only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. This must be the spoof to out-spoof all spoofs.

You begin this four-part adventure on the concourse of a major British airport and soon realise that you are reliving part of Mel Brookes' hilarious Airplane. An airline pilot wanders by, muttering, "Don't call me Shirley".

Once you have mustered a variety of artefacts, discovered the amusing password to the computer and collected your boarding pass, you can begin the adventure in earnest. Providing, of course, you survive the customs.

Once aboard the aircraft you may wish you have never bothered, as the gags come thick and fast. The humour is slick at its worst and at times outrageous. A tube of rubber solution, a spanner and a silk sheet are all you need to leave this flying death-trap, but it will take some experimentation and head-scratching to manoeuvre your escape.

You must sign a contract in blood and step back in fashion if you wish to progress to part two and star alongside JR (Just Revolting) in the new series of Dullus.

In the remainder of this laugh-along type-in, you will meet Captain Gorilla of the Kill Street precinct and discover that smoking really is good for you.

I found getting into the shed to be the most perplexing problem of the entire game. I eventually became enlightened to the fact that a nihilist approach to examination was most rewarding. The funniest sketch has to be that involving the mice and the Pie Wiper of Hamelin, but I'll leave you to unearth the true humour for yourself.

My one and only criticism is a familiar grouch on my part - the adventure is written using The Quill. All the usual limitations of parser, input and room description apply here, as they do in other Quilled games. However, this adventure succeeds on every other score and will keep you in stitches for many hours.

Author David Edwards is fast becoming the unchallenged master of this genre of text adventures. I rate American Suds as more polished and funnier than anything from the Melbourne House stable and perhaps only equalled by Magus' majestic Locks Of Luck and Riverdale's own Suds.

Pendragon