From the inlay
The year is 1996, and the Government has gone too far. Since the formation of the World Council the people had had to put up with a lot, but it really was going to far to rename every city in the world.
I mean, it may not have been too bad if some bright spark hadn't noted the fact that most cites were beginning to look the smae - and like New York in particular.
[...]
But now things had gone too far. It had been called the 'second prohibition'. The Government had decided on a strictly 'no spirits' rule in every New York world wide.
[...]
So here I am, a new kind of Spirit chaser in what some reckon was the original New York.
[...]
I'd feel a lot surer of my task if I could remember where I'd left my Electronic Detector of Ghostly Entities ... that'd fry the little creeps.
From the back of the box
Graphics adventure with text-adventure-like play but without the text!
Unique play mode involving the use of objects and icons instead of text input - but with all the usual complexity you'd expect with a text adventure.
Unique system allows you to pick up objects, inspect them by enlarging them, and even to connect them together for use.
Scrolling main playing area of streets in New York, with 'realistic' scrolling background of the city skyline giving a true 3D feel.
Extensive playing area with many many problems and puzzles to solve.
Completion time: months even for an experienced adventure player.
User Summary
This was an early attempt to progress from the text-based adventures popular at the time. The user controls an investigator who can walk left and right against a flip-screen graphical backdrop. Instead of typing commands, a keyboard overlay provides a list of possible commands, such as 'Take', 'Examine', 'Use', 'Enter', 'Connect' and even 'Swear'!
Picking up an item stores it in a six-slot inventory. Items in the inventory can be combined by placing them next to each other and using the 'Connect' command. Selecting the 'Examine' command when an item in the inventory is selected shows the user a magnified version of the item, which may give hints as to how to use it.
The system is highly reminiscent of the LucasArts point-and-click adventure games, but this game was released two years prior to Maniac Mansion.
Credits
By Simon Lipowicz and Andy Blazdell
A Reflex Arc Production