The hokey 1950s video of your frostbitten character is thankfully left behind for the haunting visuals of an icebound ship, the Herculania. As you wander through the ship's fabulous art deco ballroom, movie theater, and other rooms you'll manipulate objects and find clues to how the six passengers diverted themselves with evil intentions and forbidden love. Con artists and hypocrites (with one exception), they came aboard the Herculania seeking pleasure--only to become ensnared in their hosts' scientific experiments. You'll also confront the Neurographicon, a futuristic dreams-to-reality device that you suspect trapped your father before you.

Integrated QuickTime sequences, ambient sounds, and the ability to pan 360 degrees enhance the gothic creepiness of this game. The game begins slowly, but the puzzles soon pick up the intellectual pace. Environment is important, and clues can be devastatingly subtle, though not as biographical as one might expect.

Morpheus is a rich, many-layered experience, with puzzles inside of puzzles, and you'll get a lot of play for your money. To finish you'll need a large notepad and pencil, some math, and careful powers of observation--or a lot of time. --Betsy Aoki

Pros:

• Lavish, colorful graphics and ambient sound
• Story rich enough to intrigue without excessive gore
• Engaging--the puzzles require thought and observation

Cons:

• Use of 3 CD-ROMs means you have to switch discs throughout the game
• Occasional crash for Mac users; PC users, note the patch