QBASIC.TK SITE IS DEFUNCT SO I'M PROVIDING THE TEXT OF THE ORIGINAL REVIEW ************************************************************************** GRAPHICS: 20/20 with a star (Collection of dots on your screen) Right from the beginning you sense that this author nows how to handle his pixel programs. Even though the game uses 320x200 graphics mode and you can see the pixels as big dots, the drawings has a nice smooth feel to them. Even in the main menu the detail level is very high, so you can actually spend some time enjoying how details that are not obvious from the beginning, begins to popup to your eyes. It is clear to me, even though I'm still in the menus, that Lachie Dazderian has used alot of time on the graphics, and it has paid.´ When you finally decide to "Enter Acedemy", you will not be disapointed by the graphics. A nice fella will be telling you about the Acedemy, while his mouth actually moves! I haven't actually seen this in any other qb/dos game before (doesn't meen it doesn't exists mind you...) and is another proof to how detailed this game is in graphics, not to mention all the details in the background, that are there even though they have no use. If your looking for anything to criticize about this game, you shouldn't hope to find anything about the graphics. Let's see... It has good grapchis were needed, well drawn. Further on the graphics hold the same style/detail level throughout the game and uses advanced elements the right way. And finally the auther has detailed it beyond what's needed for the gameplay, and so you can spend long time just looking at the graphics. This game defently deserves top score for graphics. SOUND: 1/20 (Yes, it's possible to do sound with Qbasic...) It gets one because it does actually have sounds. If only it had been more than little beeps aproving that you pressed a key... oh well... Though it doesn't hurt it, it would have improved the game if it had had proper sonud and music. STORY: -/- (<- that isn't a smilie) ((Ever read a book?) Zero. And this type of game needs none. Therefore I won't tax it for it, instead I'll replace the section with... REPLAY VALUE: 14/20 (Over, over, and over again. Are you sleeping yet?) As a true puzzle game, Detective Acedemy has a high replay value. You can compete with yourself, or beat up your friends for a good time. The only thing that anoys me is that even on the Novice difficulty level, the game is still very tough, and I haven't completed anything with success yet, but that might just be me =P. It is a thing that might prevent some people from playing it again many times, and sometimes maybe even throw away their (wireless) keyboard in frustration of their bad memory... ahem... GAMEPLAY: 14/20 (All the rest. Are you enjoying yourself? Jumping in the chair, breathless at times?) The game includes some different challenges which gives the game a good variation, and makes it interesting to play. You are tested in both Face Memorizing, where you see a face scroll a cross the screen and then have to assemble it from parts as good as you can do, and Detail Observation where a picture of for example a living room is shown to you for a couple of secs after which you are asked questions about the color or placement of objects in the picture. I've heard that there should be a third mode aswell, but I haven't the ski... eh... time to get there. It also includes a practice mode, where you can tune your skills before entering the acedemy. There isn't much action in this game, nor any battles or that stuff, but the author have managed to make you bite your nails while trying to remember how many green books where on the shelf. Good work. It achieves "only" 14 because the game should have been easier in the beginning (and especially on Novice level), and because even though the game is fun, it gets a bit daunting when you're playing alone. SUMMARY: 13/20 (This is where I adjust so the game gets the score I want) The best about this game is defently its highly detailed graphics. No doubt there. What you're supposed to do is nicely presented throughout the game, so you won't have to alt-tab between the game and manual. Some people might say music is a great downside, but honestly, I didn't notice until I found out I had to review it... All in all I think Lachie did a good job with this game, in the 8 days he claimed to have done it in. Also, it has a good documentation, both in-game, and in a seperate file, you can turn the sounds on/off, and turn up the brightness for rainy days. That counts for something. It has no source though, shame on you! TOTAL: 62/100 Reviewed by Zap