"Although initially scheduled for release earlier this year, Queen's long awaited computer game, The Eye, has been postponed yet again, this time so that publishers Electronic Arts can iron out the last remaining bugs in the programme. Also on the stands will be the accompanying books inspired by the game: The Novel Of Queen The Eye and The Art Of Queen The Eye. These are, respectively, a fictionalised version of the computer game written by actor Paul Darrow (best remembered as Avon in Blake's Seven) and a visual introduction to the game's interior world (which comes complete with a CD-ROM sampler). These books are not essential tools for gamers, but do provide a lavish companion set to The Eye, and are beautiful additions to any Queen collection, regardless of whether you have computer access or not. Art Form Computer games are becoming an art form, and Queen have set another precedent by being the first band to utilise this format in a rock setting. The Japanese may have already devised their own computerised 'virtual' rock stars, and acts as varied as Yoko Ono and the Backstreet Boys have released albums as CD Extras, or Enhanced Cds containing a computer-readable track with additional audio-visual material - but in truth, these packages are merely regular audio discs with a PC comaptible track tagged on at the end. Queen, on the other hand, have jumped in at the deep end, and while there may not be any virtual Freddies or Brians to compete with Tomb Raiders' Lara Croft, The Eye's cyberspace hero, Dubroc, is geared up to explore a Queen-inspired universe in which images and characters from the band's songs are brought to a full and very active life. The philosophy behind the game appears to be well thought-out, and rather than tritely starring the members of Queen in a Beatlesque burlesque, or worse still, blandly tracking the group's history "through the years", The Eye seeks to create a fully interactive experience for the player, enhanced by the iconography, artwork and music of Queen. Turning the traditional conventions of merchandising upside down, then, Queen haven't simply harnessed their music to a crop of predictable cartoon-style images, but have chosen to do it the hard way - by creating a virtual world which is claimed to be, "a wholly artistic and creative endeavour, seamlessly blending story and plot and character with technology and music". The five-CD game operates in a fantasy environment staged 150 years in the future, and conjures up a variation on George Orwell's 1984 theme. Here, a post-apocalyptic urban society is governed by a vast computerised network know simply as The Eye. Eager to destroy every last remnant of creative thought from humanity, The Eye has established special agents to patrol its dominion and maintain its tyrannical grip on the imagination. Dubroc, who starts life as one of the Thought Police, uncovers the forbidden musical archives of Queen, and begins to realise the dark truth of the system which employs him. Before he can react, The Eye discovers his treachery and orders its murderous creation, 'Death On Two Legs', to destroy him. Further Queen characters met along the quest for deliverance include Mr. Le Roy Brown (from 'Bring Back Leroy Brown'), Mr. Fahrenheit (from 'Don't Stop Me Now'), and the Baroness (from, 'Killer Queen'). Dubroc's mission is not only to keep himself alive, but to overthrow the current political system and to restore the forbidden archives, and thus thought and freedom, to the populace. The game itself is crammed full of visual Queen references and nice artistic touches, such as clips from snippets of promo videos, album covers, in-jokes, and more than a passing homage to the 19th century illustrator, Jean-Ignace Grandville, whose artwork was used to such great effect on the cover of "Innuendo". It's heady stuff, and to get caught up in the manic atmosphere of this game is like attending a Queen convention staged in an asylum for the criminally insane! It's worth pointing out that, in producing this game, the writers were given more than a month's access to Queen's tape archive, which they trawled for songs and sound textures. The music on the soundtrack, including some obscure titles and instrumental versions, has all been remixed, edited and generally re-configured exclusively for this project. Over forty different tracks have been used, plundered from every stage of the Queen catalogue - so even the most hardened fan will probably find it difficult to recognise the source of some sequences. In the meantime, the book The Art Of Queen The Eye is a general sampler which captures the flavour and atmosphere of the game. It achieves this with a stream of impressive, full-colour visual stills which take in the artists' original concept notes, work-in-progress sketches, character profiles, an extensive behind-the-scenes chapter (including interviews with the game's creators) and detailed tours through the four main game battle areas ('The Works Zone', 'The Theatre Zone', 'The Innuendo Zone' and 'The Final Domain'). It's easy to be seduced by the lavishness and the luxury of it all, but lest we forget, this book exists primarily as a promotional vehicle for the more comprehensive (and expensive) CD-ROM package. Also included is a full breakdown of the music used for the program, thus creating a high-quality, stunningly compiled 160-page reference - a virtual How Do They Do That? for the game. The free 'teaser' CD-ROM sampler which comes with the book features digital-quality sound and video clips, and acts as a trailer to the game proper, containing a 45-second movie introduction, plus five short clips featuring images of the game's characters and their home domains. In short, The Art Of Queen The Eye acts as an excellent introduction, companion, and reference to the computer game, but also stands alone as a worthy Queen book in its own right. The Novel Of Queen The Eye allows the reader to learn more about the background to this fascinating sci-fi world, and delves deeper into the interactive storyline. Paul Darrow, making a somewhat surprising appearance as a novelist here, delivers a suitably fast-paced, rollercoster ride of book, which catapults you and favourite characters from the game into further Queen-inspired fantasies and adventures. ".