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I was very impressed by Larry Horsfield's first release last year, Magnetic Moon, and was therefore looking forward with hopeful expectation to this, its sequel.

Starship Quest, is a three-part science-fiction adventure which involves a lot of clear thinking and planning if you are to be successful. I spent as much time thinking and scribbling on my map as I did in playing the game.

You begin your quest in the now familiar role of Mike Erlin, second Lieutenant of the United Planets Survey Service spaceship Stellar Queen. Your mission is to explore a huge city which has been discovered on Magnetic Moon's orbital planet. You are keen to discover whether this is the source of Vast Knowledge.

As the scenario unfolds aboard your spacecraft, you must engineer a number of actions quickly and precisely. The beginning is something akin to the start of Enthar Seven or The Hunt, with an important time factor to negotiate if you are to get started in this ingenious teaser.

In fact, part one has some of the most perplexing puzzles I have come across in any text adventure. Even if you are successful, you will soon find out that all the trouble you went to flying a space jeep to the planet Fathnar was in vain. You are somewhere else!

As in Magnetic Moon, it is essential that you use the commands LOOK UP, LOOK DOWN, LOOK ACROSS and LOOK UNDER periodically to ensure that you don't miss any clue or artefact.

In fact, Stellar Queen is an epic in frustration. Once you have conquered a fabulous beast called a Bearion you breathe a sigh of relief only to discover that your entire inventory has been stolen.

Commands are entirely limited to verb-noun input which at time adds to the frustration, and I long ago groaned at having to type GO DOOR in order to enter a building or machine. You will need to SLEEP and WAIT at different points in part two and indulge in some climbing as the adventure nears its climax.

Larry hasn't quite matched Geoff Larsen's construction of atmosphere with The Quill, but his puzzles are superb. If you scratch your head as much as I did over this brainteaser, you'll end up bald. Beware the Tigerilla, and buy this one.

Pendragon