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If you combine the complexity of the TV series and the depth of Sim City, what do you get? A sprawling game with 150 blocks of ceaseless criminal activity, that's what you get. Neil Jackson tries out life in Captain Furillo's office.

Life is tough in downtown Chicago. There's a mugging every five minutes in the Hill Street Precinct, serial killers roam the streets hunting for prey, and drug dealers peddle their wares on the sidewalks. In Hill Street Blues, you take the role of Captain Furillo, the mild-mannered and perpetually troubled police chief responsible for law and order in the Precinct, and under your command you have nine offices to do the leg-work of capturing criminals. However, your brief is broader than just nicking the bad guys. You must not only keep the streets clean but do it without the general public even being aware of the continuous battle against crime. Ordinary Joes cannot be delayed by wailing Black-'n'-Whites clogging up the traffic, and Mrs. Mahoney doesn't want to see bullets flying when she's out buying her apple pie. It really is a tough life!

The game features a control system rather like that of Sim City and has a similar (but more detailed) map, criss-crossed by long straight streets intersecting at 90 degrees. There are around 150 "blocks" in the Hill Street area, all under your jurisdiction. At any one time there is room for one block on the screen, so the whole city is rather large and difficult to cover.

Below the street display are the main control icons you use to direct your officers. To the left is the radio operator who passes on the details of crimes as they are reported. Using her information you can decide which cop to assign to each crime and where to send them.

To tell your officer where the destination is, you use a map of the whole city which you select using one of the icons. Assign an officer to a specific crime, enter it into the computer in your office and a yellow finger appears on the map pointing at the appropriate block. Select automatic mode and the officer travels to the location under his or her own steam, or you can direct your personnel by hand in manual mode.

Depending on the distance from the Hill Street Station House, an officer can either walk or drive. Walking as a much better idea if the scene of the crime is within about five blocks, since Hill Street has a rather frustrating one-way system which slows down vehicular travel.

When you've got there, it's time to hunt for criminals among the Hill Street population who appear on the street display. If you have a description of the miscreant and he happens to be in visible range, then a set of red arrows shows the guilty party. If he's an unknown assailant, things are less easy. You must wander up to passers-by and take a good look at their faces. You can radio a description back to HQ, then compare them to the mugshots you may have on file. If you're pretty sure you have your man (or woman) then you can either issue a warning (sometimes effective with small-time hoods), or make an arrest and drag the perp back to the cells. Wrongful arrest doesn't do much for your reputation, though, so make sure you get it right!

Assuming you manage to find and arrest the right people, the case may still not be solved. If the criminal act was murder or drug-related, then the defendant has to go to trial. The officer responsible for the arrest must be free for the day to appear in court and identify the suspect. If he's out on another case, or messes up the ID parade, that's it. The suspect goes free and cannot be re-tried for the same offence. However, most criminals usually re-offend, and you may be able to catch them later - but next time, our felon may be a little less likely to "come quietly" and might attempt to escape, this time perhaps even using weapons to help him.

For real tough cookies, Officer Hunter has a hotline to the SWAT team. You can cordon off the block while they go marching in to dislodge the holed-up hoodlum - then call in the paramedics to clear up the ess and scrape the innocent bystanders off the sidewalks.

Hill Street Blues is a difficult game to master, and even more difficult to succeed at. The odds are stacked against you and you need very quick reactions to deal with many crimes at once. You can multi-task between all nine of your officers at once, which can make things a bit confusing. Who nicked whom? Where is he now? Who's next in court? And so on.

Graphically the game isn't up to a whole lot, but it is interesting from an "ant-farm" point of view. Cars whizz by, pedestrians wander around and motorcyclists tear down Main Street. The animation is smooth enough, but there are some occasionaly sprite-collisions which leave you wondering whether it really is possible for a biker to get side-swiped by a police car and survive.

Controlling the game is simple enough, once you commit the menu system to memory and know how to get to the various sub-menus. However, the mouse-click action seems to be frustratingly delayed sometimes, and some functions are selected by the right button rather than the normal left one. Why?

The opening soundtrack to the game is a rendition of the Hill Street Blues melody, but it's a bit lifeless. Some of the original tune's counter-melodies and subtle discords do not sound very pleasant when rigidly pushed through an ST soundchip.

Hill Street Blues is an absorbing game, for several reasons. Like the TV series, it really does open up your mind to the difficulties high-ranking coppers must have to face in their day-to-day lives. The unceasing activity going on in Hill Street, both criminal and legitimate, enhances the feeling of being (almost) in control a real, living, breathing metropolis, which in turn makes the game a little on the addictive side.

Doubtless, Hill Street Blues isn't everyone's cup of tea. There are no high-drama action scenes or jazzy sound-effects to amaze you, but there is a solid game which gradually unveils its many secrets as you play it through. Worth a look if you found Sim City even remotely interesting.