<!--
	Title: (SOFTWARE REVIEWS) Moonmist
	Author: Shay Addams
	Source: Family Computing, v5(5)
	Date: May 1987
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: Amiga, Apple, Atari, Atari ST, C 64/128, IBM
PC/PCjr, Macintosh.<br>
PUBLISHER: Infocom<br>
PRICE: $35-$40<br>
REVIEWER'S SUGGESTED AGES: 11+

The chief drawback to adventure
games is their lack of replay value.
After you've solved all the puzzles,
the game just takes up shelf space.
*Moonmist*, however, evades this fate
by offering four variations on the
mystery that takes place in a haunted
castle in contemporary England.
In each, you must accomplish the
same goals: identify the ghost, find a
treasure, and uncover evidence of an
attempted murder so you can arrest
the killer — all within a 12-hour time
limit. The castle's layout remains
identical (the documentation provides
a floor plan), but the ghost's
identity varies in each version, and
so do the answers to the other mysteries.
Not only that, but even the
puzzles differ, and a valuable object
in one game may prove worthless in
another.

Naming your favorite color at the
outset determines which version
you'll play. After you type in your
name and sex, and they're incorporated
into the story's dialogue, your
friend Tamara shows you around
the castle, introducing you as a famous
American private detective.
You must interact with characters
such as the butler, Dr. Wendish,
and others, to gather some of the
clues, while many others are discovered
by manipulating objects.

The plot surfaces at dinner, after
Tamara announces her engagement
to Lord Jack. Suddenly, the voice of
Jack's deceased uncle, Lord Lionel,
speaks from a concealed tape recorder.
He tells of a treasure hidden in
the castle and provides the first clue
to its location. These clues consist of
brief poems and riddles that lead
you to more clues and eventually to
the treasure, while creaking doors,
cobwebs, and a secret passageway
lend suitable atmospherics. Though
this is a mystery, all four versions
are far easier than *Deadline* or *Suspect*,
so it's a good choice for novices.