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The Inheritance is another French game that has plenty of elements of originality in both presentation and gameplay. It comes in three parts in which you have to escape from your hotel, catch a plane to Las Vegas and then make a million dollars overnight. Sounds easy, huh?

The reason you've got to do all this is that your aunt has popped her clogs and is an ex-aunt, bequeathing you her whole fortune only if you can make that million.

At the start of the game you are placed in your grotty apartment on the 17th floor of a hotel and given $200 and an airline ticket to Las Vegas. Your first task, and probably the toughest, is to get out of the building.

The room is pictured as a single screen which you can explore using a cursor. Placing it over an object and pressing Fire may cause you to pick it up or reveal its contents. For instance, there's a bag - which will come in handy - and lots of objects in cupboards and drawers. Once you've got what you need, you can place the cursor over the door and head out into the corridor.

Each floor has a single corridor: a lift and stairwell on opposite sides in the middle, and rooms along either side. You can move along the corridor and turn around using the cursor. If you turn to face a door you can ring the bell to see if anyone's home or just try to go in on your own.

The problem with this leisurely inspection is that you've got only a few minutes to get to the airport and had better look lively.

Heading for the lift or the stairs you'll encounter the main problem: the building is full of people you owe things to. If you've got the right thing to give back to them they'll go away and not bother you again, otherwise they'll pester you incessantly.

The people appear as head-and-shoulders pictures with animated mouths, all looking like characters from a cartoon. They aren't all bad for you, but if you happen to offer them the wrong object, it might be construed as a threat and bring all sorts of trouble down on you.

When you manage to get to the ground floor, you've got another knotty problem: how to get to the airport. But I'm sure a resourceful individual like you can cope with that.

The airport is the second part of the game and involves you safely getting onto the flight, surviving some unexpected happenings and catching a bus to the casinos at Las Vegas. There are a number of different problems to solve and things to do to ensure success. Trial-and-error is your best method of discovery.

At Las Vegas there are three types of game you can play. Some other places provide ways of raising more money if you get lucky or observant. The games are fruit-machines, craps (dice), and a numbers game called "boule". You'll find it tough to make money very quickly on the tables, so to make the million you'll have to plug away for a long while.

The graphics in all sections are excellent, featuring interesting characters and locations. The problem-solving is most evident in the first game, with some tricky situations at the airport. The gambling at the end is thrown in more for fun than anything else. I think this is better than Vera Cruz and most players should find it a lot easier to get into.

Escape the hotel

P. Excellent graphics for characters and locations.
P. Good control over the realistic hotel environment.
P. Nice knotty problems to work out.
P. Three parts should keep you going for a while.

N. You may get frustrated with the constant need for trial and error.

A fairly original concept here - a pleasant surprise. The graphics are detailed and colourful, compelling you to turn over or examine every object. Most amusing was bumping into another character: he (or she) would generally demand an item on your person. The problem is that when I'm affronted in such a manner, the fire button gets a good beating. This does no good at all: it aggravates them, causing further demands to be placed upon your shoulders.

The Inheritance has more than enough to hold your interest - if you don't like meeting other people, or even milling around airports, then I'm sure you wouldn't reject a good spending-spree at the Las Vegas casino!

The graphics lose out here, everything looking rather dull and drab. But this does not seriously affect the gameplay.