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He's the original hunk - the most powerful man in Eternia. He-man! The star of small screen cartoons, dodgy plastic models, comics and a million and one other spin-offs finally reaches the computer.

His muscle-bound form takes a bit of hammering on the Spectrum. Not so much a Superman figure - more a Clark Kent. And, oh dear, is this a black box surrounding him to get around the colour clash problems? Yes, it sure is.

First impressions are important - and this could well make you think that the game was going to be generally dodgy. Even the fact that He-Man has acquired a body shield and this could be used to explain the black box surrounding our hero doesn't help much.

But take a deep breath and play the game and you'll find that Masters Of The Universe: In The Ilearth Stone, is a splendidly colourful platform adventure.

OK, so it may only be another graphically good platforms and ladders game, but it somehow has a real atmosphere.

You are He-Man, battling as usual the evil Skeletor and attempting to destroy the Ilearth stone which grants old skull-face his deadly powers.

The game sets you the task of freeing the little wizard Orko from one of the many stone towers of Castle Greyskull. Only his magic can help you destroy the stone.

But before you free him you must find the correct ingredients for a spell that will turn your Sword of Power into an atom smasher.

To get through the game, you have to collect various objects while fighting off Skeletor's clones. Watch out for the shimmering patches scattered around - these give your Sword of Power more power to wipe out your enemies.

When killed, some transform into things you need. On the opening screens a clone turns into a plant which you require for the spell.

The game begins outside Castle Greyskull - He-Man has to find a key to the castle and beat off some clones before he can really get down to the task of freeing Orko and getting rid of the stone.

This serves as a training session for the rest of the game - you learn how to control He-Man as he runs, jumps and fights his way through the opening hazards.

Then it's into the castle where the real game starts. Here you come across loads of clones and robot creatures all out to end your career as the world's toughest character. Just think of all the royalties you'll lose if you let them kill you off.

The castle is packed with platforms, some moving, most static, as well as all those enemies. There are hidden doors to be opened by moving levels and many secrets to be uncovered.

US Gold says that the C64 and Amstrad versions won't suffer from this blemish on the character of He-Man - and they add that the C64 music is pretty spectacular. We'll have to wait and see...

Masters Of The Universe is a good platform adventure and unlike many other cartoon, movies, book, comic spin-offs actually does manage to capture the spirit of the original characters.