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all the funerals in all the world, I had to walk into
mine! It's a spooky feeling, watching your own funeral,
with people looking straight through you as if you weren't
there. Well, maybe I'm not in the flesh, but my spirit
lives on.
How
did I come to be in such a strange situation? Well,
it all started when I, Detective Alan Chance, was sent
on an undercover mission to infiltrate a drugs gang.
Everything was going as smooth as a baby's bottom when
someone alerted the gangsters. They killed me and took
my partner Sarah as a hostage -- for some reason they
preferred her company to mine! Anyway, my colleagues
on the force now think that I was to blame -- I've got
three nights as a ghost to bring the gangsters to justice,
clearing my name in the process.
When
the mourners have left, I watch the workman fill in
my grave. He seems to see me for a split second and
goes almost as pale as me. Darkness has already fallen
when he and the night watchman leave the cemetery. I'm
on my own now, or so I think until the spirit of Joe
Danby greets me. This friendly ex-publican gives me
a guided tour of the graveyard and its inhabitants before
I start my quest.
Apart
from Joe and myself there are seven other ghosts, including
a blind old lady, a perennially arguing couple and an
old army Colonel who is continually moaning about the
drunken, graffiti-spraying vandals in the churchyard.
Undoubtedly, I will be requiring help from all my graveyard
colleagues.
You
see, being a ghost isn't all it's cracked up to be.
At first, I can't lift even very small objects; I must
build up strength by picking up progressively weightier
objects, starting with a tiny plume of thistledown.
To move heavy items I must recruit the help of the other
ghosts, but most are either not able or willing to help
me. Only by helping them or showing them my improved
strength can I count on their aid. One thing I do know:
I won't be able to catch the gangsters on my own.
Level
9's last adventure is undoubtedly one of their finest.
The novel idea of playing a ghost works surprisingly
well and affects the whole nature of the adventure,
creating unique problems. For instance, you can carry
only one (fairly light) object at a time, and in the
presence of strong light you soon start to fade!
Graphics
are few and far between on the disk version (although
good when they do appear -- better to have a few good
pictures than many bad unes) and missing altogether
on the cassette game.
Far
more important is the text, which isn't exactly spooky,
instead being very humorous in the style of Gnome
Ranger/Ingrid's Back. There are plenty of bad puns
about death here (you haven't a ghost of a chance, we
don't serve spirits etc) -- in fact the only one that
appears to be missing is the 'stiffy' joke!
As
usual with Level 9, the location (and especially character)
descriptions are detailed and atmospheric, and virtually
all of the items mentioned in it can be EXAMINEd. As
in the Ingrid games, most of the problems are
character based, and interaction with the other ghosts
is essentially very good. The other characters are independent,
moving around at will, and behave realistically, not
necessarily doing what you tell them to.
With
such novel plot, wonderfully devious but logical puzzles,
a superbly humorous atmosphere and the usual Level 9
parser and vocabulary sophistication, Scapeghost
is a classic not to be missed. Ironically, it's also
a wonderful adventure epitaph for Level 9!
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