A point-and-click adventure for children, in which one can explore a fantastical Alice-in-Wonderland inspired world. This game can best be described as
Myst, which is by the same company, except without much depth or puzzles. Although the
Masterpiece Edition was released in 1994, one year after
Myst, the game itself actually predates
Myst by quite a bit. Cyan.com claims that
The Manhole was the
first entertainment CD-ROM ever, which is quite likely true as it was released in 1988.
The
Masterpiece Edition of
The Manhole differs from the 1988 original in that it has color, improved sound, new characters, and can run on Windows (not just Macintosh). However, even with these improvements the game seems thin and plotless. Although the cover claims that the game is for "Children of All Ages", it is unlikely an adult would find this world enticing. Even children may become bored with it, as this version now features long spoken dialogue which cannot be interrupted. Since the mouse cursor does not change over hot spots, it is easy to accidentally trigger the same dialogue repeatedly.
