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THE GREAT COMPUTER FRAUD

IF YOU have ever had a desire to take part in a giant computer fraud, or longed to break into the Pentagon's central computers, or simply spy on the private accounts of some multi-national company, then System 15000 is the game for you.

Your friend Mike has written to you with details of a computer fraud in which Comdata has been ripped off by Realco for $1,500,000. Your task is to break into the correct computers in order to transfer the money back to where it belongs. To do so you will need to track down the appropriate accounts and find the correct code numbers to access them.

The entire game is played out as if your Spectrum really was hooked into a vast network of computers. The System 15000 of the title is a high-powered user network similar to Micronet of which you are a member. Mike gives you a few clues to start with, and there is another hacker, Geoff, who may occasionally send helpful messages to you through the system. Otherwise you are on your own.

Whenever you telephone a computer, the Spectrum responds with simulated ringing tones. Sometimes the number is engaged, and sometimes the system shuts down while security checks are made. Somewhere, someone knows you are on the track.

Undoubtedly the economy of a game in which most of the commands are in the form of numbers or character strings of only a few letters, and the display simply a series of different types of computer screen, means the actual structure of the game can be very complex. After playing for many hours, unless you are a master codebreaker or just very lucky, you will still feel you have only penetrated the outer strands of the web of conspiracy surrounding Realco and the missing millions.

System 15000 is an absolutely first-rate game and the very stuff of which good adventures should be made. We can hardly wait for the sequel.

Chris Bourne

Memory: 48K Price: £9.95