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It's not every day a pixie says you can fly, but that's exactly what happened to Peter Banning. He was a hard working, respected chap, but had forgotten one minor incident long ago... he was Peter Pan! Then, one magical night, a small winged creature visited Peter, reminded him of his past and told him his kiddies had been kidnapped (ouch!) by a pirate! Being one of the good guys, Peter agreed to journey to Neverland, fight Captain Hook, rescue his kids and recapture his youth for good measure.

The adventure begins with a map of Neverland and a compass showing direction. At first only a small part of the map is displayed but on finishing each level you progress further around the island and more is revealed.

There are four types of gameplay; an arcade platformer, an underwater swimming section, a flying collect-'em-up and a one-on-one beat-'em-up, the majority of levels being platform romps. Objects need collecting in every level - fail to recover them all and you might as well hang up your pointy boots! Four special items also require seeking out - a clock, a horn, a sword and a tooth, each one hidden somewhere in Neverland (the things people do to rescue their kids!).

Many platforms are too far apart to cross with a normal jump, but spreading a liberal layer of pixie dust over them gives a neat little springboard. Of course you need 'happy thought' marbles before pixie dust leaping can ensue, and these, again, are collected.

Thimbles are also scattered around. Gain enough, find Tinkerbell and she follows you about, killing enemies when desired. Watch out for the baddies too - Hook's hoards patrol the island looking to jab and stab, but a few swipes from your sword soon puts them in their place. When every section is cleared you face up to the Cap himself - kill him and your children are set free, and peace is restored to Neverland once more.

The film Hook cost millions to make, but was a disaster at the box office. Luckily the game's a different kettle of limescale. The graphics are crystal clear with neat animation and an assortment of enemies, like monkeys who sit up in trees throwing bananas at you - tread on one and you go skidding across screen. In one level, you can even pick up a basketball to 'shoot some hoops' and use a metal detector to find hidden treasure! It's not vital to your quest but it all adds to the fun. The flying sequences are most impressive, as are the between-level screens with Tink giving advice.

The four radically different styles make joystick jostling varied, but (and here's the let down) our old enemy the multi-load is back with a vengeance. If you lose a life, you need to reload both the map and the level on which you perished! I know multi-loads are common nowadays but every time you die, come on! It's bad enough on disk, but cassette users will find it really tedious. Another niggle is the way Pan attacks during the platform games. He looks like he's poking with a pencil rather than stabbing a sword! Still, it's great to play and the amount of levels should keep you occupied for many an hour.

Hook would make a superb cartridge (no multi-loads), but expect some frustrating moments if a cassette/disk what you buy.

As a bunch of unknowns resurrected the oft-told story of Peter Pan in a quiet little suburb called Hollywood, little did they know they were paving the way for another epic movie tie-in from Ocean [Julia Roberts? Robin Williams? UNKNOWN? C'mon Miles, where've you been? - Ed].

With twenty pirate-infested levels and four varied game styles there's certainly a lot on offer. The map screen's easy to use and pleasing to the eye, but the swimming sections on later levels are annoyingly sluggish and tricky to play due to the 'turn and move' control system. Also the fight scenes are very disappointing, with speed on the fire button more important than skilful combinations of (very limited) moves.

Presentation and frills are all up to the usual high Ocean standards but Hook ultimately fails to inspire. The platform and swimming sections are okay but the others are very poor. Basically, there is just not enough substance there. Slapped wrists all round for Ocean.

I can't help wishing Ocean had opted for the icon-driven adventure approach to Hook, as they did on the 16-bit versions. There's precious few of them about nowadays, and we've got platformers coming out of our ears! Even so, however over-crowded the genre, there'll always be room for a game of this quality!

The graphics are amazing, squeezing every last ounce from the Commodore's screen display, and the difficulty curve lets you get through just the right amount of game before it gets tricky.

Alas, every silver lining has a cloud, and Hook's is its multi-load. It's been ages since I've seen one this cumbersome - having to reload two sections of code every time you lose a life (and we mean a life, not even *all* your lives)! Unbelievable!

Hook's a burn on disk, but tape users with less patience than a particularly well-disposed saint should steer clear.

Presentation 87%
Colourful intro, and helpful "Tink" screens

Graphics 89%
Lots of different characters, cheery backdrops

Sound 69%
Choice of good FX or annoying background music

Hookability 86%
You'll be "hooked" from the start

Lastability 70%
Bulks to play through, let down by loading

Overall 74%