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Being neat and tidy has suddenly become very trendy, both on planet Earth in Skidz and now in the fabulous underground caverns of Quiffy's world. Also, who is Quiffy? Well, think of a short Phil King, with a bigger quiff of hair, and painted green. Not a pretty sight, but this pudgy guy is our hero and we're stuck with him.

Other differences between him and Phil are: he eats trash (Phil creates it), he can climb up walls and across ceilings (Phil has to be helped up the stairs) and he's a dab-hand with all manner of weapons (Phil's adept only with balls).

Quiffy's world is made up of 42 levels, each of which is completed by eating all the trash before finding the end-of-level teleporter. Quiffy has to be quick about it too, because he is pursued everywhere by the ghost of his chastising aunt. She appears a couple of seconds after Quiffy arrives on a level, and follows his exact route - only slightly faster!

This is a problem, because she drains Quiffy's energy with every contact. Another problem is water: most of the caverns have a tendency to rapidly fill up with it. Quiffy can dive below the water, and swim about, but he can only hold his breath for so long...

Sadly, most of the other creatures in the game are perfectly happy breathing water and they're all after Quiffy. Leaping Psycho Teddies kill on contact - as do Sparkling Fungi, static objects with must be avoided. Just as dangerous are Doctor Dustys, which wear hard hats and love to throw around sticks of explosive! By comparison, slovenly snails, ricocheting Beady Balls, floating Lumpy Wanderers, sleepy Plonkin Donkins and Vacuous Gombos are welcome. Although they all drain Quiffy's energy.

It's just all well there are some weapons for Quiffy to collect, including grenades, dynamite and a Huge Flamethrower which will torch just about everything. Dying nasties even leave a heart of energy for Quiffy to catch.

Other objects which can be picked up include Stout (extra life), Cocktails (brief invulnerability), Switches (discover secret passages), Plungers (briefly pauses flood) and Droplets (speed it up). There's also mines which throw you up in the air, balloons for a more sedate ride upwards and parachutes for a calm descent downwards. Best of all, there are question marks, which give you a password enabling you to start at that level from then on.

This is great! The graphics are little disappointing with black backgrounds and little variety in the platforms and enemies, but all the sprites are imaginative and very well drawn.

The weapons are superb, with excellent explosions and some great samples - especially the rattle of a bouncing grenade. But it's the gameplay that matters, which is surprisingly varied.

On some levels, all you need is a quick trigger finger, other times it's brainache time as you puzzle over which switches to press and in what order.

I especially liked the levels where you had to use droplets to raise the water level, the tense deep diving and walking along the laser beams.

My only real complaint is the price. While there's plenty of well-designed gameplay here, there are only 42 levels and about a dozen enemy creatures.

Still, any game that gives you a gun bigger than yourself, throwing a flame longer than a screen is well worth considering!

Don't be put off by the unimpressive screenshots. Flood is an extremely addictive game. This cute arcade adventure reminds me of New Zealand Story, especially with the touches of sick humour like Quiffy blowing himself up with a grenade!!

I especially like the way the hero can crawl along walls and ceilings. Of course, the rising water level adds an extra twist with the omnipresent danger of drowning - and sometimes you even have to dive deep underwater to get to trash. Add continue-plays and a simple password system to avoid frustration and you've got one of the most enjoyable cutesy games around.

Presentation 76%
Comprehensive and amusing instructions, vital password system and fun intro. Good quit and useful restart level options.

Graphics 75%
Black backgrounds are disappointing, and level graphics aren't that varied, but the creatures and weapons are great.

Sound 80%
Good intro tune, and excellent sampled effects.

Hookability 84%
Very easy to get into...

Lastability 77%
...but 42 levels of varied gameplay, if not graphics, provide a substantial challenge.

Overall 80%
A superb arcade adventure.