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The body of an attractive woman lies sprawled on the floor of her apartment. She has been shot through the heart. A gun lies on the floor near her right hand. It looks like a case of suicide. But something's not quite right. It could be a case of murder!

As the newly appointed Detective Sergeant in the Crime Squad at St Etienne in the Loire area of France you have to investigate the death.

L'Affaire De Vera Cruz is the second game to be released in Britain by the French company Infogrames and it's far better than the rather pedestrian Mandragore.

The game is in two parts - the first centring on the scene of the crime where you must examine various objects, take notes, and the second use of the police computer to collate information, send messages, and obtain statements.

At the scene of crime you use the cursor keys to move the camera about. Pressing the copy key (on the Amstrad version) enlarges the picture and gives a description of what you've found.

For example, close examination of the ashtray shows it contains two cigarettes - one a Rothmans, the other a Camel, with traces of lipstick.

Now, being a smart detective, this suggests to me that there may have been another person in the room. Possibly male, since one cigarette does not have lipstick traces.

It's then back to the police. You can use the Diamond Computer Network to enter evidence, compare statements, check interviews, access other police computers. Again we won't name the suspects who crop up in the investigation into the death of Vera Cruz.

If you like detective stories and whodunnits then check out Vera Cruz. It's a very arresting game.

Spectrum, Commodore 64 and MSX versions will follow.