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Garfield hates Mondays. It's Monday today and that means that something bad is bound to happen. A howled message from another member of the local cat community floats in through the window: "Garfield! Arlene's been taken to the city pound!"

Monday strikes again!

"Ho-hum," thinks Garfield, "I suppose I'd better go to the rescue." So, summoning up all his (meagre) strength, he sets off to find a way to get his girlfriend released.

On the way, there are a number of 'puzzles' that he needs to complete, starting with how to get Odie to follow him and open the door, allowing him to get out to the rest of the town and continue his quest. His journey will take him through all sorts of locations, including the park, sewers, shops and finally the city pound. And when he's freed Arlene, he can live lazily ever after.

Jim Davis' humour in the Garfield cartoons appeals to me immensely and I still take great enjoyment in reading the cartoons, so I was naturally pleased when The Edge decided to program an Amiga version. That way the machine's graphics capabilities could be used to create an entertaining and amusing game.

Now that the game has arrived, I'm glad to see that the graphics are very good, capturing much of the feel of the original drawings. However, much to my disappointment, the actual gameplay is awful. Everything happens so slowly (not that there's much to happen in the first place!), and the puzzles take too much walking around and not enough involvement to be challenging.

If you either like Garfield or arcade adventures, then steer clear of this. As the packaging says: "Big, fat, hairy deal!"

Don't pay any attention to Maff - Garfield isn't that bad. OK, the gameplay doesn't zip along at an incredible rate but I don't think it's really slow enough to put you off completely either.

It is a bit harder than the C64 version, though. One particular puzzle (using the torch underground and picking another object up) had me completely stumped and I still haven't managed to figure it out. Still - the graphics are absolutely brill and there's plenty of wild an wacky fun to be had just wandering around, kicking Odie (you should see Garfield's expression when he manages that!), scoffing pizzas and generally behaving like a great big hairy cat called Gordo. No, Garfield. You might not find the arcade puzzles all that satisfying but just for the pleasure of starring in your own cartoon it's got to be worth a second look.

Garfield is a fat, orange, striped, lazy cat. He lives in a house with his owner Jon Arbuckle, his friend Odie the dog and occasionally his relative, Nermal, "the cutest kitten in the world". He likes nothing more than sleeping... well, actually that's a lie. He likes *eating* more than sleeping. and his favourite foods are pasta-based dishes, particularly lasagne - but he isn't averse to eating the odd fern of Jon's every now and then (not while Jon's looking of course!).

Odie the dog often ends up as the butt of most of his jokes: bursting balloons or giving him rubber bones, and dealing him the odd punt when the mood takes him. Jon, too, has his share of problems with the cat-hero - Garfield manages to run up huge credit-card bills and ruins his chances with girls.

However, the big G does have a girlfriend of his own, named Arlene, who doesn't have the greatest respect for him (Is it any wonder?) - but who can't help loving him in some way or other...

Presentation 59%
Very few options, no front end but adequate in-game appearance.

Graphics 92%
Colourful and relevant backdrops with wonderfully drawn and animated sprites.

Sound 51%
Poor tune and weak spot effects.

Hookability 87%
It's great fun watching the cartoon characters running about the place at first...

Lastability 55%
...but it soon becomes obvious that there isn't a great deal of game in them.

Overall 60%
A beautifully illustrated but slightly disappointing arcade adventure.