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Edd the duck is a world-famous superstar. And it's high time he had his own TV series, rather than merely presenting other (lesser) stars' programmes from the broom cupboard. (Bit below his station, really.)

Well now it's happened. Edd has finally got his own action-packed show. It stars Edd (who else?) and follows his escapades through the various departments of the Beeb (yes, it is a low budget program).

It's an interesting format. Edd has to collect all the stars that have been littered around each section. Set against him is Wilson the butler (you only ever see his hand) and his cronies. Luckily they move in pre-determined patterns, and while they're not easy to dodge, their movements can be predicted.

Edd has four 'takes' in which to complete this task. If Edd is touched by one of the baddies then another take is used. When he gets touched for the fourth time the show's over.

Edd The Duck looks and plays very much like Rainbow Islands - it's the same vertical tower of screens that need to be scaled, with the dynamic duck having to climb upwards and onwards to complete this task. The graphical style is similar too, the theme being cute and cuddly throughout. The way the monsters move, and even the star-collecting element, bears more than a passing resemblance to the coin-op classic.

Edd has to jump his way from platform to platform choosing a route that takes him ever higher while he's at it. Twenty stars need to be collected to allow entry to the next level but, on the first level anyway, there are one or two "spare" stars so you can afford to ignore the more difficult ones.

Edd's adversaries are headed by Wilson the butler. They follow preset movement patterns which can be studied. Edd is armed with a snowball-shooting device, which he can use to freeze his enemies for a few seconds. (There's no killin' in this game - boo!) When they're stunned, Edd can move through the baddies without coming to any harm. And as they frequently guard the oh-so-important stars, there's plenty of stunning to be done.

Edd's movement is easily controlled; he can be moved to the left or right as he jumps or falls and doesn't get 'killed' when plummeting earthwards for too great a distance.

The graphics are cute. Even the piranha fish look friendly enough, and Edd is immediately recognisable as the television character. Sound is limited in the main to jumping, collecting and shooting type noises, but there is a rather jolly little tune that accompanies the title screen.

Edd The Duck resembles Rainbow Islands a little too closely, but is not as good a game either technically or in game design - there are no power-ups for instance, and the game isn't quite as smooth or addictive as the coin-op.

Taken on its own merits though, it's plenty playable enough. The difficulty level is about right - you won't finish the game in the first five minutes, but you'll find that there's enough progression to keep you at it.

Edd The Duck is a cute platform puzzler, and contains enough laughs and surprises to keep all but the fussiest gamesplayers happy.

Complete the first level.

Graphics 87%
Cute as cute can be - even the piranhas look cuddly!

Sonics 88%
Not a bad title tune, and the in-game fx are adequate.

Grab Factor 85%
Instantly recognisable as the TV superstar, and easy to control to.

Staying Power 73%
Good progress can be made, but it may be a bit too limited.

Overall 75%
Edd relies heavily on a tried game formula, but doesn't altogether pull it off.