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THE LIFE of a store detective is not always fun, especially when you have to pamper to the whims of a psychotic store boss who is hooked on warning notices, bring him cups of tea and look after your reputation as a super sleuth.

Play starts on the street outside the store. You must decide how to keep the boss happy for a day without getting the sack. You will be given three warning letters before that unhappy event occurs.


Your first job should be to map the store. Although you have been there for years you have had a sudden attack of pernicious amnesia.

Getting tea for his nibs is easier said than done. First you have to find it, crashing though hundreds of customers who are not averse to calling you a clumsy oaf. Then take the tea to the top floor where Sir - a talking head in a swivel chair - will give you a mouthful of abuse, courtesy of the scrolling message window.

On your way up you will find objects which will be of help in your store patrol. Those include a wooden box, a skateboard, a gun, a hammer and a cage. The use of some of those is obvious but you will have to work hard to discover the use of others.

As well as giving the boss his tea you are contracted to shoot ducks on the ground floor, kill bugs - not in the program - and extinguish fires. All those tasks are overseen by the boss who will literally give you the boot if you are slow. So, get on your skateboard and start moving. The day finishes at 5.30pm and there are still hours of hectic floor walking ahead of you.

Grumpy Gumphrey, Supersleuth, with its novel plot, is a welcome change from Monty Mole. The graphics are better than the Mole games - not so much screen flicker - and the plot is complex. Most of the characters within the store have some semblance of intelligence and often reveal that they have more upstairs than Grumpy.

Show your boss that you can bring some sanity to this computerised version of a Saturday morning at Marks and Sparks. You will find it a difficult but rewarding job.


Publisher Gremlin Graphics Price £6.95
Memory 48K Joystick Kempston, Sinclair, Cursor
*****

John Gilbert

GRUMPY GUMPHREY SUPERSLEUTH
Gremlin Graphics / £7.95

Ross: Poor ol' Grumpy Gumphrey. It's a hard life being a store defective - especially when you're getting on a bit and you reckon it's about time to take things easier. I mean, the shoplifters are getting younger and it's hard to spot them if the old eyes aren't what they used to be. On top of that the boss is out to get you, as he thinks you're a lazy old beep and he's got you running errands all over the place. So you'd better be on your toes 'cos as soon as you put a foot wrong, you're out on your ear, P45 an' all!
Your day at the store starts at 9am. Not only do you have to catch any shoplifters but when the boss says jump, you jump - and you'd better not be late with his tea. In between times, you'll have to cope with floods, fires and even an escaped gorilla monkeying about in the store.
Playing the game is pretty simple, although the controls aren't exactly responsive and the lifts between floors are prone to get stuck sometimes - I haven't sussed out if that's a feature or a gremlin.
Overall, this game's not bad but it feels as if there's something missing - not fun but perhaps addictiveness. I certainly don't think you could class it as one of the Gremlin Greats. 5/10
Dougie: For a complex 3D game, I'm amazed at how they've overcome the colour problems. Get's my vote on that alone. 7/10
Rick: So, Gremlin's taken the leap off the platforms into something altogether different. Out of the frying pan? 'Fraid so. 5/10