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"Argh, not another climbing game!" I screamed when the disc version of Hard Hat Mack was discreetly dropped on my desk by the Editor who, luckily for him, rapidly disappeared back into his office, leaving me to contemplate suicide or at least resignation.

But, even I can be surprised. Hard Hat Mack certainly contains enough surprises to have even the most jaded Donkey Kong player cooing with admiration and praise. The game includes all the ingredients that are vital for a climbing game, but has so many added features, inventive twists and original and refreshing ideas that the game has an extra dimension that sets it apart from any I have seen before.

Hard Hat Mack, as the name suggests, is set on an unfinished construction site. You play the part of a hart hat trying to finish the work on a skyscraper by placing small girders in the numerous holes and riveting them into place.

In the second level you have to collect all the tool-boxes that are lying around the site. You will have to negotiate conveyor belts, weak girders and huge magnets before all the equipment has been collected.

The third level proves even more difficult for the hard working Mack who must get hold of the steel blocks and drop them through the girders into the riveting machine. But you'll have to avoid falling into the machine or running into the exposed wiring hanging from the ceiling if you want to complete the building.

Even getting across the screen is made tricky by gaps in the steel girders. The only way to move from one side to the other is to jump on the top of the two springboards and bounce over to the other side.

You're all thinking that this sounds just too good to be true, and there must be a catch somewhere. Well, you're right - there is one small problem - it costs £30.