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Cheman is mad as hell because his night isn't going to plan. All he wanted was to watch a gig by the legendary Gods Of Metal and have them sign his printout of the 'wanking guitarist' gif image. But no... firstly, his printer was out of ink. And secondly, he can't get into the gig at all because Badajoz's seventh bio-dance group is blocking the entrance with its 'batukada' festival. Arrrrgh!

If you weren't able to tell from the above game scenario, the guys that comprise the Mojon Twins are a little eccentric, if very cool, and always inject lots of humour into their games. The Mojon Twins have been creating games on a variety of old school platforms for more years than I can remember, such has been their influence on 8-bit homebrew gaming.

No, there are no twins in the group in case you were wondering! Cheman has been released as a free digital download for ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and NES. A physical tape limited to 30 copies for the Spectrum and Amstrad were available for purchase at the Retro Zaragoza event and were immediately sold out. If you would like to purchase a physical copy of the game email mojontwins@gmail.com with the subject 'Preorder Cheman'. If they have enough interest, they will produce a new batch.

Physical copies of the tape included the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum version plus a surprise for Amstrad gamers. There is an 'aesthetic change' in the physical copy to the free digital download versions of the game. You can download the game following this link: mojontwins.com/juegos_mojonos/cheman/

In order to get Cheman to the concert hall to see The Gods of Metal play, he will need to complete the two levels of run 'n jump platform action. You can use three keys for left, right and up or redefine the keys to use with a joystick or gamepad. Your goal for each level is to collect the 'powwer' medallions that look like Halloween pumpkins and place them in the ‘powwer’ totems on each level.

They can be found in the same spots each time you play so no random placement generator here.

Some are easy to get to while others are placed in much less accessible locations where you will need to jump over many obstacles, ladders and avoid or destroy those pesky 'batukadas' blocking your way. How you do it is up to you - you can either collect all the 'powwer' medallions first or leave them until after you've got rid of all those batukadas. Or you can just play it by ear. It's really a matter of trial and error, and seeing what works for you. In the Head Up Display (HUD), at the top of the screen you see how many lives you have left, how many keys you are holding, how many uncollected medallions remain and how many batukadas are still unsquashed. One of your six lives are lost if Cheman touches the enemy 'batukadas' on their sides or underneath them. Lives can be regained by collecting cups of coffee or collecting diamonds.

The difference between the two levels are minor. The visuals are different with the first level looking so gorgeous compared to the second level which isn't quite so pretty. There are keys to collect in the first stage but no spikes to avoid. The second level has no keys to collect but many spikes to avoid. The first level has multiple locations for 'powwer' totems the second level only has one ‘powwer’ totem to which you must constantly travel back and forth in order to deposit your 'powwer' medallions.

The first level colours are just fantastic, even to this day some 30 plus years after the first CPC 464 hit the shelves developers like the Mojon Twins know how to use the CPC palette so wonderfully well. The concept works well. There's nothing too complex... just good old platform game basics. Each screen is a little different from the last. Not by a great deal but just enough to continue enjoying playing the game. The music by Davidian is so catchy, it's probably what I like most about the game. It really suits the action and I found it pulsating through my mind and body, it appeared to be in sync with the enemy movement too.

It probably wasn’t but as the female enemy 'batukadas' spun / moved around the screens the music seemed to be in tune with her movement. Cheman reacts to your commands very quickly and moves a lot faster than I expected. In fact, this fast movement makes the game a real joy to play.

The second level isn't as well designed as the first. There's too much going back and forth between the single totem to deposit medallions. The second level feels much harder than the first level with spikes everywhere, some coming with no warning out of the ground.

The visuals and sprites in the second level are not as vibrant or as cool as the first level. The difficulty is quite high for both levels with not enough cups of coffee or diamonds to collect to recharge your lives counter. And there are only two levels.

If the second level was more like the first in terms of more 'powwer' totems located around the screens and there had been more levels with a greater amount of collectable bonuses to increase your lives, I think Cheman would have been a real classic. As it is, The Mojon Twins have put together another polished CPC platformer, one that absolutely thumps out a glorious tune while you manoeuvre and position Cheman around each screen collecting medallions and avoiding the enemy 'batukadas' at a very fast pace.

The first stage is so visually stunning there is just so much to like about that. A cool platformer that has got the gameplay and playability just about right. But you'll probably enjoy the first stage a lot more than the second one.