Murder off Miami

Players progress by collecting clues, interrogating people, and interacting with the environment. The interface is largely text-based, with occasional images to set the scene. Commands are given to complete actions.^[1] Gameplay is split into three parts which represent the three days of investigation.^[2]

The game was co-written by Fergus McNeill, who had previously authored The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings parody games The Boggit and Bored of the Rings.^[3] It is based on a 1936 book of the same name by Dennis Wheatley, which was presented as a crime dossier containing letters, photographs, and physical clues such as a blood-stained curtain and cigarette butts. The reader was meant to analyze the information and determine who committed the murder, checking their answer against the solution provided in a sealed envelope with the book.^[4]

There was a fatal bug in the first batch of Spectrum units, resulting in the game restarting each time the player tried to get out of their chair at the beginning of the game.^[5]

Summarize Fact Check

A review in Sinclair User gave the game four out of five stars, praising the plot but noting some infelicities in the writing.^[1] Meanwhile, ZX Computing's review was cut short due to the bug, but the reviewer was impressed with what they experienced and looked forward to reviewing it again the following month.^[9]