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Crystal Castles from the arcades is making its debut this month on both the Beeb and the Dragon, although this is not as good as the BBC game.

The scenario is as usual, with Bently Bear in the castles collecting gems while being harassed by monsters who are either after him or the precious gems.

Each castle is made up of three-dimensional blocks which form stairways, platforms and paths, all littered with gems.

The castles can be confusing though because you can go down a pathway behind a wall but your figure remains in view. Until you visualise the perspective he appears to be wandering about in thin air. This can be very disorientating even if the hidden paths are handy for escaping from the nasties.

Gem eaters, Berthilda the witch, trees and bees are all very bad for Bently's health hut can be opposed with the use of a magical hat. It appears from time to time and you can pick it up, making you invincible for a time.

To complete each screen you have to get all the gems but since the beasts can eat them as well you have to claim the last one yourself to get the bonus. Bently's hunger for honey also brings dividends, grabbing a honey pot for extra points.

Other useful features in the castles are lifts which can get you to out-of-the-way gems and special doors which, if you can enter them, will take you to a higher level.

The sound effects are very good, saving the game from total disaster, but who buys a game just for the sound? The main problem with the game is in the control. When rushing around, the joystick seems to take on a mind of its own and automatically whips you round corners and obstacles.

This left me feeling pretty cold. Although the graphics looked promising at first sight, they turned out to be unpleasantly flickery and unclear. Controlling the figure was very strange - one pull on the joystick somehow got you round several corners, a feature which destroys the whole principle of the maze game.

A 3D variant of dot-gobbling. It's fast, with satisfying sound effects, but spoilt in my view by indistinct, garish colours and the imprecise control.

However, as in the arcade original, the different screens each require a different strategy. If you can get used to the strange graphics display in which characters remain visible even when they're behind buildings (!), you may find a few hours' entertainment here.

The control on this game leaves much to be desired and, although it's a sound game idea, the way it's presented definitely isn't up to scratch.

Flickery, eye-straining graphics and not a lot on the sound front, I wouldn't recommend it.