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I don't think anyone who actually saw the Hudson Hawk film came away satisfied. Luckily, the Ocean conversion is a far superior affair, taking the form of an arcade-adventure platform game.

Level One begins with Hawk standing outside Rutherford's Auction House. Your objective is to enter the building, avoiding the security system, and escape having stolen Leonardo Da Vinci's Horse Sculpture. Levels Two and Three follow a similar sort of theme (i.e. platform-oriented theft) but become slightly more difficult.

Mr. Hawk is an agile fellow, bouncing around and manipulating scenery to assist his crooked alms. He moves in a style very similar to that of Rick Dangerous, and throws balls at his assailants, knocking them for six.

This all sounds great tun but, believe me, you don't know the half of it, You see, Hudson Hawk was programmed by Special FX, arguably the best programming team in the country. The graphics and sonics are up to an amazingly high standard, with some great animation complementing Hawk's movements. You might think that three levels is not enough for a platform game, but every level is split up into various sections, each with different graphics and escape (or entry) routes.

My only gripe is the multi-load. However, this seems to have been incorporated to allow for the many graphical effects little touches such as being thrown off the building by a guard dog, extractor fans that really extract and the wonderful end-of-level screens - at the end of Level One, you're rewarded with an excellently drawn replica of Mr Leonardo's horsey.

So, if there are any of you who missed it first time round, don't hesitate to buy it now. An essential part of anybody's software collection, Hudson Hawk is the platform game to get at the moment.

I still haven't seen the film, so I couldn't tell whether this is an accurate conversion of it. What I do know, however, is that it's a blockbuster of a game. The action is fairly conventional platform fare, but it's so well implemented, so polished, the lack of innovation doesn't matter.

Gory, movie-style special effects are provided on contact with the ingenious traps, including electrifying lasers, impaling spears, and sucking air ducts. Fun touches, like the Rottweiler dragging you off the roof at the start, help create a tongue-in-cheek (typical Willis) atmosphere to complement the thrilling gameplay. As for the backdrops: superbly detailed, shaded and varied, they'd put some movie sets to shame.

Hudson Hawk is one hell of a quality product - and you don't have to watch Bruce's acting either!

Presentation 86%
Multi-load (not a bad one), brill loading screen

Graphics 92%
Great animation, cool sprites and backdrops

Sound 89%
Brilliant music, spot FX during game

Hookability 89%
Platform jumping is compulsive fun

Lastability 92%
Big challenge and graphic variety keep you hooked

Overall 94%