Like any other creative industry, the computer game market is stacked up with crap. There are far too many designers who haven't a shred of creativity and whose only talent is being able to pick up on an already lame trend. But every now and then, a game comes along that can put hope back into this jaded critic's eyes. The first one of these standout games of 1995 has got to be Commander Blood from Mindscape.

	It's even more remarkable that this wholly original product is, in fact, a sequel to 1988's Captain Blood, released during Mindscape's first incarnation. Captain Blood was flexible, funny and among the first games to feature EGA graphics. Commander Blood takes place in the same galaxy as its predecessor and features many of the same alien races, but there is no need to have even a passing familiarity with the original game to really get off on the new incarnation.

	The player is an android named, not surprisingly, Commander Blood, who is in the employ of the oldest person in the universe, Bob Morlock. Until now, Bob has kept himself alive through the years by freezing himself in a cryobox, and only letting himself be defrosted once every year for twenty minutes so he can blow out the candles on his birthday cake. But lately, Bob's been feeling philosophical and wondering what life is all about. Since he has nearly unlimited resources at his command, he decides to just go to the beginning of space and time and find out. That's where you come in. You get to pilot Bob through several black holes to the Big Bang, where he is quite sure that all those nagging questions will be answered once and for all in the blinding light of Truth.

	You have to admit, it's an interesting theory.

	Even though Bob has done lots of research on space and time, you're pretty much clueless as to what exists beyond your sad little solar system. The only way to find out is to travel around and ask aliens about their neighborhood. So, you have control over the fastest spaceship money can buy, which comes with a cryobox to store your boss, a powerful computer named Honk, a universal translator, and a large screen television!

	Your task is very clearly set out before you, but the galaxy is a complicated place, and you seem to be an android with a rather short attention span, so don't be surprised if you find yourself wandering off the beaten track a bit. You may, in fact, find yourself doing some intergalactic drag racing, or going shopping at Venusia, the mall planet, or chasing after the beautiful and probably fictional Ondoyants. You may even find yourself cursed by an ancient mummy or hiring a new chef.

	While this is an interesting enough plot, the real pleasure in Commander Blood is the presentation. The interface is a very simple point and click, and your four panel space console completely surrounds your character, so you just turn around to whichever machine you want to use. The VGA graphics are not only sharp, they're downright psychedelic at points. Many of the transitions between scenes are done as smoothly as those found on M-TV, and this surreal atmosphere isn't hurt by the excellent techno music and alien dialogue. 

	Speaking of aliens, you've never seen the like of these guys on a computer. If they seem familiar, it's because they hearken back to some of Jim Henson's more bizarre monster Muppets. The effect is created by rotoscoping puppets onto the otherworldly landscapes. No, this is not the most realistic setting in the world, but trust me, you won't care! We're not talking about hard science-fiction here. Commander Blood is somewhat reminiscent in tone of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It probably will give Activision's upcoming Planetfall game a run for its money.

	Since Commander Blood was a French production, it has a certain international appeal. The designers very wisely opted to avoid digitized speech. All of your information comes to you through your translator, OLGA, as text at the top of the screen. You hear alien gibberish, but you can read the conversation as it happens. This means that all the company has to do to make a new version for a different language is to replace the text files.

	The game is also well-stocked with on-line hints for those who are new to adventure games, or just having trouble with this one. The hints are supplied by Honk the computer, but there's an interesting penalty for this information. Each hint costs 3 units of an energetic element called Bionium, and you can only get that element by playing a 3-D arcade style game in cyberspace. What a penalty, eh?

	There is so much to recommend Commander Blood that it's hard to say it all, but it's easy to say you should play it for yourself. You won't be disappointed.