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The last in a long line of great Telarium/Windham Classic adventures, this game doesn't quite live up to the wonderful Below the Root that used a similar but less advanced choose-the-verb engine. It is nonetheless a solid detective game with interesting plot twists and a nice interface (e.g. you can "listen" in on conversations, and ask people about their alibis). It is also the first (and, alas, last) Telarium game to use EGA/VGA graphics and excellent NPC routines well-integrated into puzzles – you must, for example, observe each suspect's routine by following them, then eavesdrop on their conversations at the right time and place to gain new topics you can ask other NPCs about. The Scoop has a rather harsh time limit meaning that you might have to restore many times to get everything done, sort of like the protagonist in Groundhog Day. Still, its interesting plot, fun character routines and well-written dialogue more than make up for its shortcomings. Thumbs up! Reviewed by: Underdogs | 
Scoop, The 
