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Sherlock has arrived and elementary it is not! With The Hobbit still a permanent fixture in most charts eighteen months after being released, it seems inevitable that Philip Mitchell's latest offering, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous sleuth, will quickly join its predecessor in that elite band of software evergreens.

Set against a backdrop of Victorian England, you take on the role of Sherlock Holmes as he attempts to solve a number of mysterious, but apparently connected crimes. As with The Hobbit, all the characters you may meet lead lives of their own ('Animaction') and can be conversed within 'Inglish' (a subset of English) and instructed to do or say things ('Animtalk'). The latter is not always fruitful as the characters, being independent, make their own minds up whether or not to be co-operative.

As in Doyle's originals, Doctor Watson is there to accompany Holmes on his travels rather like a loyal Labrador with about as much independence. One is almost tempted to type in 'Say to Watson "Heel"' or 'Fetch'. In retrospect the good Doctor should have been made a little more intelligent and useful!

The adventure begins at 8.00 one sunny Monday morning in the upstairs rooms of Holmes and Watson at 221B Baker Street, London. We are greeted with a beautifully detailed description of the sitting room with maps and charts on the walls, a table with acid stains in one corner, and a pipe rack. A few disappointments here, namely not being able to pick up and smoke a pipe or find a deerstalker to wear. Although these are minor things in themselves (and no doubt expensive on memory consumption) it is this kind of attention to detail and authenticity that would have helped us mortals slip into the role of Sherlock poised for some serious sleuthing.

After some minutes Watson, who up until now has had his head buried in this morning's Chronicle, draws our attention to a news story concerning two murders in 'Leather Head', both apparently committed with the same murder weapon. Why 'Leather Head' two words, you ask? Answer simple - 'Leather Head' is the name of a fictitious town invented by Mitchell, who had never heard of Leatherhead, Surrey.

The article goes on to say that the famed Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard has taken a personal interest in the case and is visiting the scene of the crimes this morning. The imparting of this information seems to be the only genuinely useful thing that Watson does! Nevertheless, unable ever to walk away from a case, Sherlock sets off for Leather Head.

Having worked out how to take a cab and subsequently a train (sorry, no help here or I'd spoil the fun), we arrive at the main street in Leather Head. One hint - pick the right train and choose your travelling companions well! From the main street, there are a number of possible directions that our investigations could take including the Jones Estate, where an extremely dead Mrs Jones was found in the early hours of the morning. Then, to the west, there is a Brown Estate, where the lady of the house was found on the lawn by the gardener after he had been woken by the sound of a gunshot.

Searching the houses and gardens in, and around, Leather Head reveals some very interesting clues about the shady characters living in the area. What, for instance, was the Major up to during the night of the murder? Does Patricia Fender really exist, is Daphne withholding information behind a wall of sobs and tears, and where is Basil really coming from? Having visited some 75% of the locations in Sherlock, conversed with many of its inhabitants, ripped people's alibis to shreds and been shot trying to open a safe, we are still no closer to the truth. But having gleefully invested many hours trying to find out "Whodunnit", it has become clear that Sherlock will attract a sizeable cult following, just like The Hobbit, and we can expect special Sherlock 'helpline' columns to appear in many magazines before long. In short, Sherlock is not to be taken lightly.

1. 'Open All' is useful. 2. Keep your eye on the clock at all times. 3. Acting like a sheep can pay dividends. 4. Watch out for many red herrings. 5. When is the safe safe? 6. When it comes to verbs, qualifications will help. 7. There are nearly 250 objects or locations, but we're not telling you how many of each. 8. Listen to the Inspector inspecting.

Text: Sophisticated text interaction with good use of adjectives. Large vocabulary of about 800 words - similar to The Hobbit.

Graphics: Poor! This game is essentially a text adventure with some graphical embroidery so that it could be marketed as a graphic/text adventure (against the wishes of Philip Mitchell) to widen its appeal. This is an unfortunate commercial compromise as the graphics - such as they are - will be disappointing to most people. Also, the memory that they consume would have allowed for an even more elaborate text adventure. The C64 version will have more text than the Spectrum version.

General: A challenging and stimulating adventure that will keep you pulling your hair out for months. Good attention to authentic detail with some notable exceptions. Thoroughly recommended, if you like adventures, problem solving, Sherlock Holmes' novels or Chopin!