In this adventure, you take on the role of Barney Brown. It is early one morning and you have just got out of bed. It seems just another boring day until you receive a frantic call for help from your partner, agent Roger Ranger of MI5. You have to get the secret file he needs and take it to him over in Chicago.

Pity that he's been kidnapped when you finally arrive at his hotel. The work of the Rafia mob it appears. Hence the race against time as you must search Chicago in an attempt to find him.

Barney Brown is in two parts. In part one, you begin in your home. You will need to find Roger's house and search the town to find the required items needed for your quest. Part two begins with your arrival in Chicago where you must search for the hotel, Roger's room and the items within plus any clues to lead you to the place of Roger's kidnappers.

Barney Brown is one of the earliest productions from Atlas - and looks it. Although there are occasional, fast-drawing graphics the game engine is rather stilted. Many of the items in a location are not recognised by the parser, other items require precise inputs, and common abbreviated commands such as 'i' (inventory) and 'r' (location redescribe) aren't recognised.

Although not quite a disaster, the parser and design may give you a frustrating time.