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Take a rotund, ginger tomcat. Give him an insatiable appetite for lasagne. And leave the fridge door open. What do you get? The sequel to Big, Fat Hairy Deal, that's what.

Our feline friend has been sampling the delights of Italy's culinary expertise once more and, having fallen asleep in the icebox beside the refrigerator, he's started to dream. A beautiful dream, about food. He can see a lasagne factory at the bottom of a ski-slope in the Swiss Alps. Wait a bit... there's a chocolate factory there too! Ah, heaven...

Garfield: Winter's Tail is a three part program, with the option of playing each section in whichever order you so desire. Part One rests your paws at the top of a steep ski slope. You (and, of course, your 'good friend' Odie the dog) must ski down the slope, dodging trees, bushes and rocks, and jumping the ramps. Should you tumble, you'll lose a unit of energy (represented by a Garfield face which starts out smiling, but gradually saddens with each accident). Energy can be regained by stealing the food held out by the spectators at the sides of the track. Hitting the final ramp at exactly the right moment catapults you high into the air, over the trees and straight through the roof of the Lasagne Factory.

The next load contains two separate levels, the first of which is more akin to a bonus stage, where you must waggle the joystick at great speed to scoff as much lasagne as possible. The second part moves you over into the Chocolate Factory. Here, you must activate the choccy egg machines by turning dials, attached to a spaghetti-junction of pipes, in order that the chocolate mix inside flows to the correct machines.

Achieve success in this section and you are whisked off to the final load. It's Torville and Dean time as you skate around an iced-over lake in pursuit of an escaped Chocolate Chicken. You're assisted in your search by the chocolate footprints left behind by the bird (a trail which is followed by Garf's stomach - he eats the prints!), but be careful of the rocks which litter your path.

After the (in my opinion) disappointing Big Fat Hairy Deal, The Edge needed a different slant for their next Garfield tie-in. Winter's Tail isn't nearly as complex as its predecessor, a lot of the gameplay relying more on joystick dexterity and a good memory.

In some respects, it's paid off, as this time it's a great deal simpler to get into the game. Winter's Tail does have its drawbacks, however. The sprites, although large, colourful and immediately recognisable, tend to move too slowly, especially on the skiing level where a hasty slide to the left or right is essential in avoiding some of the obstacles (I also noticed that collision detection was somewhat suspect on this level, too).

Still, Winter's Tail deserves to do well, being an instantly playable, enjoyable tie-in of everyone's favourite moggy.

The great thing about Garfield: Winter's Tail is the way it captures perfectly the personality of the amiable Garfield. Some of the animation is very funny - I love the way the furry feline kicks poor Odie right off the screen.

The cheerful music also adds to the cartoon atmosphere. My main niggle is that, with only three levels, the appeal won't last too long, although the option to play them in any order is a good idea. The gameplay that is present is also very simple, but Garfield fans will no doubt enjoy this light-hearted, lightweight licence.

Presentation 68%
Good option to practise all levels.

Graphics 70%
Cute characters although slow-moving.

Sound 66%
Cheerful tunes.

Hookability 71%
Immediate cartoon appeal.

Lastability 54%
Only three levels.

Overall 63%
Fun for a while.