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Lankhor are a French company who, until recently, have specialised in arcade-type software. This, the beginning of a promised series, is their first crack at adventure games.

Putting you in the guise of Gerome Lange PI, Mortville Manor has you revisiting an old house which, as well as being full of memories for you, hopefully holds the key to the mysterious death of your good friend, Julia Defranck.

On arrival at the manor, the butler answers the door, takes you to your room and informs you of meal times and the service that takes place in the chapel everyday at ten. Once alone in your room, exploration of the house may begin. However, stealth and discretion are required at all times as other inhabitants may become suspicious of you if you ask the wrong questions or if they discover you in areas of the house you should not be in. Either of these events is sufficient to end the game in failure.

The corridor outside your room is elegantly carpeted with many doors leading from it. One exit is particularly interesting as it leads to a little-used room which hides many intriguing and useful items. The kitchen, Library and Dining Room all hide clues for you to find and understand.

Exploring the area immediately surrounding the house is a dangerous occupation while the snow storm still rages - an icy death awaits should you wander too far into the wilderness. The stone well (which may be accessed using the rope found in the aformentioned little-used room) is also very dangerous and it is not wise to dally in its depths.

However interesting wandering the house and its grounds may be, the heart of the game is in questioning and interrogating the other characters. The more you find out about your surroundings the more subjects you can question suspects on. Being in the right place at the right time helps. I suggest you do not miss mealtimes as everyone gathers... just waiting to be asked questions.

Even though Mortville Manor has been written by a French company, translation problems are rendered minimal by the fact that the game is menu-driven with most game replies spoken. All speech may be repeated so that if you are having trouble with the Amiga's French accent you can listen again and again until all becomes clear.

The menus (displayed at the top of the screen) are DESK (a reminder of the authors) INV (objects carried) MOV (to move around) ACT (a choice of actions such as Examine, Get or Read), SELF (actions which relate to yourself or items carried) and DIS (the persons present with whom you may converse). When conversation takes place, the screen displays a list of the topics available; however, their existence does not necessitate an answer from an unwilling party.

The main area of the screen is taken up by attractive grahics the contents of which may be pinpointed with the cursor (via the mouse) and interacted with - examined, opened, taken, etc. A clock to the right of the screen displays the time, and a brief text description of the present location adorns the very bottom of the screen. Effective music and suitable sound effects accompany many locations and events.

An unusual adventure in its implementation, Mortville Manor is a masterpiece of intrigue and puzzle-solving. Although the other characters' reply of "You are too curious" is heard far too often the game is a must to play and play again until the mystery of Julia's death is solved. Then there's the theme tune... play it again Jean Paul.