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Americana is the new budget label of US Gold but is rather inaptly named in this case because the game was written by English Software. It's similar in many way to Thing On A Spring, but has a sting in its tail where you have to solve a riddle to complete the game.

The main character is a bug-eyed being (surely the most unlikely looking detective) who is given the task of finding which of seven men is a murderer. To find the guilty man he first has to gather eight clues from a complex of rooms. These are joined by corridors and shafts which Eye Spy navigates in a shuffling walk or by jumping over steps and obstacles. The rooms take the form of platform screens which Eye Spy has to get around to collect the safes that hold clues.

Not all the safes contain a clue and the ones that do change for each game, so most of them will usually have to be visited. Guarding the safes are various monsters in each room which sap Eye Spy's energy when they touch him. They move in patterns and can therefore be avoided with a little practice. However one room allows you to replenish energy and the time limit that runs down. There are also a couple of instantly deadly rooms from which there is no escape if you get caught by fire or water.

When all the clues are obtained you can get a riddle, the answer to which reveals the murderer's identity, leaving you to return to the courtroom to complete the game. It won't take long to explore all the rooms but some of them are quite difficult and will keep you going for a while. The graphics are very flickery but the boogie-woogie music ('Johnny Be Good') is excellent and plays throughout the game. May not take too long to crack but the murderer and riddle change each time so it's a lot of fun for only a little money.

P. Excellent boogie-woogie music.
P. Very easy to control and cute main character.
P. Some tough screens on which to get safes.
P. A tricky riddle at the end of things.

N. Graphics are very flickery.
N. Not that many screens.

None of those garish colours, but the flicker's still just as bad.

Great music, fun gameplay, but the graphics are unwatchable. 'Flickery' is putting it mildly - some screens judder so much you can hardly look at them. Shame, 'cos it's a nice game otherwise.