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Hot on the heels of CRL's Murder Off Miami comes another American detective adventure from Fergus McNeill, this time published by Piranha. And the two games could hardly be more different. Fergus stresses that this one is a Delta 4 product, whereas Miami wasn't, although what that means in practice is probably only of interest to the taxman!

Regardless of that, it can safely be said that Fergus is back on form, with this parody of the great American Private Eye, or Private Dick, as he is referred to (of course!) in the adventure. Slummy office full of dog engs, containing trendy Private Dick's mac hanging on coatstand, and a rather strange safe.

As you are contemplating your new surroundings, she arrives at the office, casts a shapely silhouette on the frosted glass panel of the office door, and kicks it in. Her father has made good to the tune of a million, but has failed to turn up to a celebratory reunion at Joe's Diner.

She'd waited a fortnight, but no sign of Dad. Is there foul play behind it? Of course, you'll take the case.

With no more ado you set off in your old heap of a car. Babies cry, interest rates fluctuate, Clive Sinclair launches a non-standard Maltese Falcon, and you get blown to bits. That'll teach you to examine everything carefully!

Never mind, you dud make a ram save, didn't you? The obvious place to head is Joe's Diner, to pick up the trail. After a little difficulty with a wire mesh, you get your first real lead, you get your first real lead, amidst the grease and grime of this dubious establishment.

Now it's off again in the car, and behind a pink door you meet Ben, and find another clue. But what about the rendezvous you were supposed to keep? And so on...

The Big Sleaze is a quilled adventure, and in true Fergus style, there is plenty of humorous text.

I found that the jokes stand up better than in anything he has done before, and the narrative suits the subject well. It rather put me in mind of a fictional 'eye' I used to read - Glenn Bowman was his name, Hartley Howard his author.

There are a few graphics, fast and not too boring, and you get the choice of saving to tape, disk or ram. The game comes in three parts, on cassette.

Detective stories are a natural for the adventure format, and adventure players should be well suited to solving them. Every adventurer has (or should have) a keen eye for spotting clues and making deductions - it's all part of the game.

Here is a game that is not too difficult, the vocabulary is less fussy than any other Delta 4 adventure, and I rate it as Fergus' best to date. If you enjoy a bit of sleuthing American style, then do it with a smile on your face, with The Big Sleaze.