Fruity Freddy Offers Rich Pickings

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In Fruity Freddie, the latest release from Softspot, you play a little boy collecting fruit from Mr Meano's back garden by moving around the screen using preset keys.

The fruit starts off as flowers, which quickly grow to full bloom. You must pick the fruit at just the right time in order to score.

If you tread on the flowers before they turn into fruit Mr Meano. who is looking out of his window, chases you all over the garden. If he catches you, you lose one of your three lives.

You can collect when the flowers turn into large bulbous fruit. The larger the fruit the more points you score, but if you leave it too late the bulb splits into four seeds which start growing in different spots.

Mr Meano also keeps a beehive from which bees emerge to chase and sting you. If they succeed that's another life gone. However there is a can of DDT around which will knock the bees senseless. But you'll have to be quick because your can soon, runs dry.

Then there's the Crazy Crimson Caterpillar which darts across the garden and will bring you down if you get in its way. And a sparrow with rather powerfuf droppings! Avoid these at all costs — they're killers.

> At the top of the screen your bonus quietly ticks away and ifit manages to reach zero before you complete the screen then you forfeit another life.

There are several other temp tations in the form of goodies which appear at random in any of the four corners.

These are worth bonus points but you'll have to be quick to grab them because they soon disappear. The goodies appear in different forms on each level and include lollies, cakes and cans of drink.

> The game is quite fast and addictive and certainly makes a pleasant change from the standard "shoot'em up" arcade games.

It is very colourful, has good sound effects and at times can be quite frustrating.

It has the usual optional freeze and sound off facilities, but although the preselected keys are acceptable, all quality software should now be provid ing personal key selection - my only criticism of an excellent game.

David Mac