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Cavemen, eh - who'd be one? The hours are long, conditions are poor, wages are low, and you can't even have a nice hot bath when you return home from slaughtering a Diplodocus for Sunday lunch.

There's no EastEnders, ten pin bowling, cinemas or kebab houses, and the only form of recreational pursuit is to dress your kids up as plants and take bets on how long they'll survive in the Brontasaurus pen.

It was into this cold and hostile world of just a few trillion years ago that Mr. and Mrs. Chuck and Ophelia Rock brought Chuck Jr. - the heir to his father's newly-built car manufacturing fortune.

Yes, that's right - the formerly gormless master of the belly-butt has sharpened up his image since the closing sequences of the original game, and now finds himself as sole proprietor of the world's second largest car manufacturer.

Sounds good, and it is - but not for long, as the inevitable enemy (this time it's Brick Jagger, owner of rival company Datstone) takes it upon himself to make the Rocks' lives a misery by spiriting away Chuck and holding him to ransom for his company.

This is where the game begins, and through a brilliantly animated comic intro we see Chuck bundled away and his faithful son listening intently as the demands are made to Ophelia over the phone.

Without further ago, the pint-sized cavebody breaks through the constraints of his primitive playpen, picks up his dad's best club and sets off on his rescue mission.

Nothing you have read up to now is likely to have convinced you that Son Of Chuck is a radically different and innovative concept - and it's not. As far as platform games go, they don't come with a much more traditional presentation than this; but it is the underlying quality throughout which sets it apart from other Good But Not Great efforts such as Risky Woods, James Pond and Core's own Doodlebug.

Junior isn't a particularly large sprite - I mean, he's a baby, after all - but he's animated perfectly, right down to the goofy toothless grin, and tantrums when all his energy is gone. Three luscious layers of parallax run silky smooth throughout the six main levels; combine this with the stunning colours and detail of the backgrounds and you have a game that really begins to show off the capabilities of the Amiga.

The first level is The Suburbs, and it's everything you'd expect from the team who brought us Chuck Rock, and more besides. It's broken down into three sub-levels, and features many of the items one might expect to find in a Stone Age town. Also included is what Core claim to be the largest sprite ever seen on the Amiga - it's a huge dinosaur, only the feet and lower legs of which are visible, and it has to be avoided as it stomps across the screen.

All the levels are set out in similar way to the first - apart from level two which contains a sole massive slumbering dino whose back you must make your way across in the face on an onslaught of unfriendly neighbours and overgrown insects.

Humour is the main ingredient of the game, and the expressions of many of your chagrined adversaries as they find themselves thumped or barged off-screen almost alone make it worth playing.

Look out too for the small dinosaurs, who when hit suddenly lose their disguises to reveal the slightly dazed dressed up caveman inside. Whereas Chuck Senior used his excessive stomach to fight his way to the captured Ophelia originally, Junior relies on the man-sized club to rescue his dad, which he drags doggedly behind him.

Some of the characters within the game are interactive, in that they will help you overcome certain obstacles. For instance, a long row of spikes on the third level is seemingly insurmountable until you enlist the help of a friendly giant ant who apparently doesn't mind taking a few sharp pokes in the botty.

The colour, animation and fluidity of movement on the level guardians is equal to anything Team 17 could offer, and just in case anyone should become fed-up with the platform action prematurely, there are four mini-games within the levels to provide few extra chuckles.

It's difficult to fault Son Of Chuck in any specific area since Core have given us an excellent sequel to a well-liked game. As far as platformers go, it has everything you could wish for and I for one won't be content until I've finished it legitimately.

Unfortunately, this may be sooner rather than later, because despite the manic nature of the game, those determined enough shouldn't find it too much of a problem to guide Junior safely to the Datstone car plant.

Having said that, there are three difficulty setting to choose from, and the humour, colour, cuteness and fun - not to mention the tunes, some of which are very reasonable - mean that Chuck Junior is the worthy successor to his dad's title as King of the Cavemen.

Cute, colourful, fast and funny - it might not convert those hardened platform haters, but it sure will delight the fans. Son of Chuck? Daddy of the platforms, more like.