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Your underground adventure begins when Doctor Decker informs you that you committed the murders. You may not be able to remember them, but Decker says that, during your hypnosis sessions, you described the murders in vivid detail. Unless you take yourself to the police and confess within 24 hours, Decker will be forced to turn you in.

Reluctant to go down without a fight, you steal a car and head for the local hospital. But the odds are against you in the form of a complex road network, a falling fuel gauge and the police who have set up road blocks at random road intersections. You can always turn back, but at the expense of fuel, or ram the roadblock, which could damage the car. Once you reach the hospital, the story takes an interesting turn for the macabre...

While resting in hospital you meet up with a colourful character called Narcisse. He tells of a place called Midian where sins are forgiven - and then proceeds to rip off his own face! Escaping from hospital, you decide to find Midian once and for all...

In this second driving sequence, you have to get from the hospital in the bottom-right corner of the map to the Necropolis graveyard (where Midian is situated) in the top-right. It's not a particularly long drive, but the maze-like road system combined with the increased police activity ensure that you don't have an easy ride. Worse still, your flagging fuel level may force you to pull in at a service station to fill 'er up, wasting valuable time.

Arriving at the Necropolis you have three choices - take a look around, enter the graveyard, or go straight down to Midian itself. Checking out the graveyard yields interesting results...

Inside the Necropolis, Boone has his first encounter with the Breed, in the form of the horrifc Peloquin. Realising that Boone's a 'natural', Peloquin deems him as meat for the Breed - and quickly bites off a chunk for himself. Then it's over to you as Boone makes a run for it with Peloquin giving chase. Synchronised stick-waggling is what's needed here, as you attempt to make it to the graveyard before Peloquin catches up.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Escaping from Peloquin, Boone finds himself confronted by he police, led by Decker. Before you have chance to react, you hear the sound of gunfire and drop to the ground. Next stop, the morgue...

But not for long. Peloquin's bite has made its mark. Boone comes back from the dead and decides to return to Midian before the cops even notice. Decker, on the other hand, is not so easily fooled. He's keen to stop you going underground, and so adopts his murderous alter-ego, The Mask, complete with his volley of deadly knives. The Mask is an expert shot, and speed is the key to avolding the spinning blades. Survive long enough and The Mask turns tail and runs, leaving you free to make the journey downwards into Midian...

Once again led by Decker, the cops (in their guise of the neo-nazi organisation Sons Of The Free) have unearthed Midian and are now prowling through the maze network killing everything they can find - and that includes you. If you encounter one of the goose-stopping coppers, a fistfight ensues, with Boone only able to progress once he's beaten the boy in blue into submission.

Midian comprises a maze of tunnels, passages and antechambers - all spread across three levels. All you have to do is find your way through each, descending as you go, and make to the bottom, where the god Baphomet is waiting for you. Unfortunately, it all looks alike to the casual observer, so making a map is essential. It's not entirely safe, either...

At the end of a level, it's a long drop to the next. Gravity makes sure you get down to the bottom, but you need to be careful on your descent - protruding ledges are dangerous and hitting too many means Game Over. Getting back up to the top the same way later on is the tough bit.

Creating an interactive movie is no easy task - it took pioneer Cinemaware years to get the formula right. Nightbreed's single biggest flaw is the fact that there's really only one way to play it. The inflexible order in which the sections are arranged means that there's no real freedom of choice and, as such, not many different ways to play.

In fairness, most of the small sub-games which lead to the entry into Midian aren't particularly impressive, but once you get underground the pace picks up. The Dungeon Master-style exploration works well, with the beat-'em-up sections providing welcome spots of active relief.

And while, visually, it fails to inspire, the sensible use of sampled sound generates a suitable atmosphere. I's a pity that it's a little too much like a movie with its linear construction. It's entertaining for the first few interactions, but it's questionable how many times you want to sit through it again...

Atari Nightbreed promises to be practically identical to its Commodore counterpart in almost every respect. The only minor difference will be in the colour department.

CGA, EGA, VGA and Tandy graphics modes are all supported, along with Roland sound compatibility. Gameplay-wise, it's exactly the same.