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Oh, that wicked Abu-Sahl, his mother said he would come to no good ... and now he's stolen the Jewel Of Luxor, more treasured than the pyramids and a lot more nickable. This Egyptian Arthur Daley intends to flog the precious chunk of rock for a fortune, and he must be stopped.

Archaeologist Nevada Smith, his assistant Janet Dwight and Al-Hasan, a peculiar hanger-on, are the only people who can thwart the evil one's plans to swell his building-society account. Each has different abilities with which to combat Abu-Sahl's guards, who seem to spring from every nook and cranny.

Beautiful Janet is first into the action; it wily enough to escape the clutches of the early marauding miscreants she can collect Al-Hasan and then Nevada from their hiding places. These two then follow in her wake, more often a hindrance in their positioning than a help, till a character switch is made and one of them can take the lead.

Indiana - sorry. Nevada Smith and his companions can gather the weapons that they find about them, such as grenades and guns, and with them deal lethal injury to Abu-Sahl's henchmen, all of whom must be killed on each screen.

Nev, Jan and AI each have four lives that are reduced by imprudent contact with a bullet or dynamite stick fired or flung by those dirty bad guys.

Together they can defeat the awful Abu-Sahl; together they can also get themselves into a lot of trouble.

Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston
Graphics: clean and well-defined with imaginative backdrops
Sound: rambling jolly tune, but meagre spot FX

'Graphically, Mystery Of The Nile is very detailed; the desert backdrops are captured well, as are the characters. It's playable, but becomes frustrating when you have your two companions bumbling around - under the control of the computer they're incredibly stupid and walk into the enemy freely, losing you a life in the process. Still, Mystery Of The Nile could be a relaxing alternative for the hardened shoot-'em-up fanatic.'

'Immediately I thought of US Gold's Zorro: a predominantly yellow screen, lots of little detailed and well-animated characters and a strong feeling of a hot and sweaty atmosphere. The screen arrangement is well-structured, with colour clearly-defined - ruling out clash and also keeping the display lively. Mystery Of The Nile is a very simple problem solving game, the better for the quick flick-screen technique, and it certainly has character - though its lastability is doubtful.'

'Mystery Of The Nile is a fantastically addictive little game with cute graphics and some really good tunes thrown in. It's a bit confusing at the start, but with a bit of help from Paul Sumner (or my Playing Tips) you'll soon be on your way to completing it. The three main characters are excellently drawn and move around well. Though it's very simple, like a kid's cartoon, you'll get some enjoyment out of Mystery Of The Nile.'