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There's no clearly defined way to sum up the plot of Hound Of Shadow. Set around the start of the twentieth century, it's a combination of occult belief, aristocracy and five cent novels. As it winds a twisting path in true H P Lovecroft style. The plot alters subtley according to the side your character takes. You can opt to get involved in occult rituals, or help stamp them out, it's completely down to you.

Hound Of Shadow is described as a Role Playing Game, and in true RPG tradition it is necessary to either select one of the three supplied characters or create a new one. I created a Mr. Keith Campbell, a handsome, intelligent, healthy freelance reporter, with considerable knowledge of electrical engineering and the occult.

Now able to enter the game properly, I was surprised to find myself playing what seemed much more like an adventure than a typical RPG, with screenfuls of detailed text and a 'What Now?' prompt. Typical adventure commands are used, and although the parser accepts complex commands, talking to other characters proves very difficult. But progress through the game doesn't so much depend on solving mind-boggling problems, as using common sense, remembering what you've learned, and learning to keep appointments.

Play is in real-time, and at first this is a little unnerving, since often you seem lost as to how to fill spare time. But whereas in an adventure, it's deceptively easy to think you are getting somewhere for little effort. Here good use can be made of a WAIT UNTIL command to move on to the next important bit of business. And as the story develops, the player's achievements are displayed with a WHAT DO I KNOW command, rather than SCORE.

A fairly sophisticated range of attributes can then be assigned to the different characters. These have a subtley different effect on the way the story is told, and possibly on its outcome, depending on the mix. There are numerous ways in which the scenario can end, and most of them are unsuccessful. Characters can be saved, and used in future games in the series. But once a character is dead, it really is dead, and cannot be used again.

The text faithfully conveys the atmosphere of Edwardian London, as do the graphics - full-screen sepia-toned pictures that load in at a prompt. Hound Of Shadow is a complete departure from traditional RPG and adventure, yet employing the popular features of both formats. Couple that with a well-researched and chilling story that's full of atmosphere, and it's got to be a winner amongst people who prefer thought-provoking games! If tht's you, go out and buy it now!