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There you are, moping around your dingy apartment, counting the cracks in the wall and shuffling the pile of unpaid bills which litter the floor. Then there's a knock at the door. You are reluctant to answer - it could be the landlord after the rent. But then a voice shouts, "There's a telegram for you!"

Opening the door you find the caretaker with a slip of paper, which brings you this amazing bit of news. "Your aunt, our client, has just died, making you sole heir to her fortune. However, there is one condition - you have to repeat her achievement of the Thirties to win a million dollars in one night in Las Vegas."

No point in hanging around, is there? You sling a few things into a bag and head for the lift. And it's then your problems start!

You have a limited time to reach the airport for the flight to Las Vegas. But it seems almost everyone in the building wants back something you've borrowed. And you better have it in your rapidly packed case, otherwise you're going to miss that plane for sure!

Getting out of your apartment building is just the first of three parts of this original and entertaining French game. I don't think there has been anything quite like it before.

As I've already said, part one involves you making a quick getaway. The game opens in your dingy room. You have to use a cursor to pick up objects and money and deposit them in your bag. It only takes a few attempts before you know what the people you are likely to meet on your way down to reception where a taxi is waiting.

The whole game is cursor-activated. Move the little red square over items you wish to examine/open/give away and that's what happens. A new twist to the current trend towards icon-driven games.

If you successfully manage to leave the apartment building - you won't do it easily I can tell you! - you get a taxi to the airport where you have to ensure that you catch the flight to Vegas. And that's just as difficult as leaving the building, believe me!

Finally, you find yourself in Vegas in a tour of the Casinos in an attempt to fulfil the conditions of your Aunt's will. Each Casino has a different gambling game to play in. These include fruit machines, boule and dice. And if you manage to win a million then you're a better gambler than me!

The Inheritance is a genuinely different game. The graphics and gameplay are unlike anything around on the Amstrad - or any other machine for that matter. It's not quite an adventure, not quite an arcade game, not even quite an arcade adventure. In the words of the famous TV presenter, The Inheritance is "something completely different".

That means it might not be to everyone's taste. Definitely not a game for those of you who enjoy unceasing action to the exclusion of everything else. But it is well worth a look if you can persuade your local computer store to run it up on the machine for you.

I enjoyed it a lot - and can't wait to see more Infogrames products. They could just be a welcome breath of fresh air...