In the Tradition of Clouseau

The current kids’ cartoon series “Inspector Gadget” strongly resembles the old “Get Smart” show. Like Maxwell Smart, Gadget is a bumbling dunderhead. The two sleuths even share the same voice--actor Don Adams’. Now, the wacky, weird, wandering detective has been re-created for computers by Azeroth in “Inspector Gadget: Mission I, Global Terror.”

Designed for children ages 6 to 12, this charming, though troubled, adventure replicates the characters of the popular series and invites children to help Inspector Gadget out of tight spots and into the wrong places at the right time. There’s no Agent 99 here, but the Inspector is aided by a young lady named Penny and her smarter-than-he-looks dog, Brain.

Inspector Gadget, Penny and Brain start out in Gadget’s living room and get their current assignment from Chief Quimby. Like most other crime-busting adventures, clues follow and you must travel around the world looking for the bad guys. The clues and puzzles help youngsters learn more about the environment while exercising their deductive skills.

Getting the characters to move around in the game scenes is awkward and very slow. While the Inspector seems to wander through this game on his own, you get to help Penny and Brain figure out the clues overlooked by the bumbling Inspector and save the world from the M.A.D. agents who want to commit ecological terrorism on our unsuspecting world. Both Penny and Brain will eventually get to their destinations but it looks like they are moving through molasses and seem to have a difficult time picking up and using objects.

The game is simply designed and looks (and sounds) a lot like Gadget and his friends. However, the game action is very slow--even on our speedy 486--and the sound effects are skimpy. It’s hard to understand why a game geared to such a young market would be so difficult to use. For the money and hardware required for this game, you’d expect a lot more attention to the technical details.

Inspector Gadget

Rating: * *

IBM and compatibles, Tandy; 256 color video, 640K RAM, hard drive required. List: $59.95.

Computer games are rated on a five-star system, from one star for poor to five for excellent.