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Just when you thought it safe to go back to your keyboard, Level 9 releases yet another adventure for the BBC Micro. Scapeghost is (unfortunately) the last adventure game to be written by Level 9, and is hailed as the best yet.

You play the part of a dead policeman, framed for his part in a drug-smuggling ring and you must clear your name within three days.

Being a ghost, you start off your adventure in a graveyard, with a motley collection of ghosts to keep you company.

What it really boils down to is three separate games which are best played in the obvious order. The first section is in the graveyard, the second in a haunted house and the third involves a poltergeist.

The location descriptions are quite sparse, although the atmospheric graphics go a long way to compensate for this.

All text is printed in first person singular - "I was standing..." and "I could see..." This can be a bit difficult to get the hang of at first, but becomes easier as play progresses.

On the graphics front, dithering is used to excellent effect to give shading and apparently more colours than would normally be available in Mode 2.

Where most programmers would have compromised and used either Mode 2 graphics or Mode 0 text, Level 9 has used both and also made an excellent job of it in the bargain. It's possible to have Mode 0 text and a scrollable Mode 2 picture, on screen, at the same time! There is also the option of Mode 4 text if you're using a TV set.

Gameplay itself is quite good. There are one or two moments when the parser has difficulty. In one case, the command 'Examine statue' gave 'You could not see a statue', when the description clearly stated 'You could see a statue'. Maybe the world's first schizophrenic parser? Oh well.

Nice game. Good descriptions. Excellent graphics.