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221B Baker Street is home to the two greatest detectives in the world. Upstairs is Sherlock Holmes, and below in the basement is a mouse named Basil, the most intelligent rodent mind ever.

This keen, sharp-witted mouse and his colleague - the amiable Dr. Dawson - have solved many a crime. But now the evil Professor Rattigan has kidnapped Dawson, and it is down to you as Basil to find and rescue your friend and partner.

As the game loaded, the distinctive tones didn't sound quite as clear as they shuld, but then up came the message: "Please wait, now loading Bascil". What appeared was a shaded loading screen of Basil in action.

What I certainly was not prepared for was the wait - about 20 minutes after the loading started the screen advised "Please rewind tape to start of side 2 and press spacebar". Shades of Gauntlet.

After approximately half an hour the game was in so, picking up my trusty joystick, I set about it.

The graphics are in sixteen shades of brown for the playing area, and the score area is blue, red, green and yellow. Need I go on? It's incredible.

The programmers of this visual feast have done some really fantastic work using the limited screen pallette, and the sprites are cute and well detailed. The display is clear and easy to see, with more than adequate sound. The gameplay is a little difficult to start with - especially finding which items to use and examine - but you get used to it after a while.

What of the baddies? Enemy mice roam the kerbs and gutters of London. Slight contact with them reduces your energy and prolonged contact is lethal.

To reach high places you must leap and bound. Timing the jumps and finding the exact spot to do so takes trial and error - and time.

In fact, my overall impression was one of time: Time to load, time to get used to the controls and gameplay, and time to tackle the game itself.

Basic The Great Mouse Detective looks great, plays well, and should have you stuck to your keyboard til the early hours.