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Another in the series of animated 3D adventures from Sierra, Police Quest follows a similar format to Space Quest. Virtually the full screen is an animated picture, with your character moveable by either joystick or mouse. Moving through a door or other exit starts another graphic loading from the disk, and after a short delay, you arrive in the next room. Run from a hard drive, for which installation instructions are included, these junctions should be speeded up considerably.

At any time, text commands may be entered from the keyboard, and appear on the line below the picture. Replies are displayed in windows superimposed over the picture until ENTER is pressed, and can range in size from a new words to virtually a whole screenful. Therefore, although there are many elements of an arcade adventure, the game is basically problem-driven rather than skill-driven.

Having said that, it is worth noting that on the Atari ST version that I played, control is far easier with joystick than with mouse. In mouse mode, a controllable arrow must be placed in front of the character, and dragged with the button held down in the direction in which you wish to move him - sort of 'tempting' him to follow. I found it extremely difficult to get the little fellow through confined gaps. In joystick mode, which must be set up from the keyboard, the arrow disappears, and the joystick effectively 'becomes' your character, allowing a far more definite control.

The game starts in the police station, where a briefing is about to be held. I didn't realise this, and the first time around, and walked straight into the locker room, which was a hive of activity. A few 'colleagues' were changing. One was having a shower, and beneath the door of a toilet cubicle could be seen the feet and trousers of its occupant. I thought I'd pop into a cubicle before having a shower, but I just could not open a door.

But I'd missed the briefing, so next time around I attended. I was joined by four or five other cops, who filed in and took up their positions, followed by the boss, who stood behind the lectern and delivered his address. Kitting myself out, I decided it was time to go out on patrol, and soon I was in the car park, about to set off. Here the game takes a different format, showing a bird's eye view of a section of the town of Lytton, and its highways.

For those who enjoy a mixed format of joystick and text, with a bit of simulation thrown in, it must be a winner.