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If you've ever watched a Western movie you'll know that the problem with being a gunslinger is that you have to live up to your reputation. It's not a lot different with software. Sir-Tech has already provided the eager world with Wizardry in all its three forms (and a fourth on the way), the excellent Star Maze and Police Artist, so naturally a new adventure game from the same stable is interesting, to say the least.

Crypt Of Medea describes itself as "an adventure game for the very mature and strong of heart". Given that people still ask me what I want to be when I grow up, I don't think I qualify as "very mature". My heart strength is good though - it's all the clean living that does it. [If you believe that...! - Ed]

I needn't have worried too much because it's stomach rather than heart that might be strained. In my case, my training in school paid off. We used to have a lunchtime competition to see who could describe the most revolting things, thereby causing several people to feel "not very hungry".

I later followed up this initial training with a course of listening to my brother-in-law. He worked in an operating theatre and would wait until we'd had eight pints and a chicken vindaloo before regaling us with his gory stories. By comparison, Crypt Of Medea is tame stuff, although I can't say I'm sorry. (Given that Bambi gave Denise nightmares, I don't think a real video nasty would be very welcome in our household.)

Although the mythologically-minded among you might wonder at Medea's crypt being located anywhere in the New World, programmer's licence leads you to find yourself suddenly transported to the said crypt with no visible exits.

From here the game becomes a standard adventure with a few variations on format. For example, the graphics screen is displayed without any text underneath.

As soon as you type something, the full text screen is displayed with a description of the location, visible objects and exits and a prompt for your command.

The Esc key toggles between the two modes, and the game can be played purely in text mode if you get fed up with the pictures.

There is a fair bit of music and a little animation sprinkled throughout the game. It's about average size and average difficulty, and with average graphics.

The manual is a bit different since it tells you how to solve the first few puzzles by way of a playing tutorial. It also has a list of words which the program recognises. The rationale behind giving this is to save you having to learn how to communicate.

However, one of the ways of getting into a game is to experiment with its vocabulary. Even though objects aren't listed some of the verbs are a dead giveaway - why recognise "uncork" or "inject" if you don't need them?

The manual also contains a list of hints and coded answers to the hints if you're really stuck. Their presence is clearly marked, so you shouldn't find them by accident.

What is difficult, though, is to look at a single hint, given that they are all on the same page.

The game is very linear - one problem has to be solved before you can go on to the next - so you can cover the list of hints and read down them one at a time. Their presence is a temptation, though, and should be resisted if you want the satisfaction that accompanies solving the problems. I've looked at all the hints and answers since completing the game, and there's still one answer I don't understand.

The main horror element comes in the descriptions of the locations, which is why you might need a strong stomach. If you can't stand to read that "thousands of maggots feast upon the remains of a body inside the crypt" then this is not the game for you.

Personally, my stomach was more turned by the standard of spelling the game and manual. For example, sounds "eminate" and you hear "noices". In the manual, maggots become "magots", the crypt is described as a "mausoluem" and you feel an "erie" sense of uneasiness. The concept of "a decapitated hand" takes some grasping too, if you're pardon the expression.

If Crypt Of Medea had been released by Grunge Software, it would not have aroused any great expectations. However, when a market leader like Sir-Tech releases something which seldom rises above the average, I find it a little disappointing.