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TALKING OF TINKER BELL

Bookware seems to be the up and coming style in adventure these days.

Hodder & Stoughton have entered the field with a rendering of JM Barrie's Peter Pan, a much loved classic. The program was written by Soft Option and is an interactive adventure with graphics. The action follows the book closely.

All the usual characters show up and you will have a tough time avoiding Hook and his villainous crew, the crocodile and the multitude of dangers in Neverland. Descriptions are full and the atmosphere is improved by the finely drawn graphic screens. Those are animated in the sense that some motion will be included in the picture. The children are shown flying across the sky, shark fins cut the water in the bay and puffs of smoke will rise from the chimney on the little house. The graphics are very attractive but do take a little time to draw. If you are impatient the pictures can be turned off.

Peter Pan has most of the standard adventure features though it is not too good at understanding abbreviations. The characters move quickly around the landscape and it can be quite an effort to keep up with some of them. The intrepreter is not as obviously sophisticated as The Hobbit's.

Nevertheless, the game is well produced and should have a strong appeal to fans of the boy wonder and his band of lost adventurers. It is also nice to know that Barrie's royalties will be passed onto Great Ormond Street children's hospital. Peter Pan should make a good Christmas present.