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Handy things drills, ain't they matey-peeps? Nothing shuts people up as well as a good hole in the head. Claire Morley's a bit of a closet driller killer so armed with her nice new pneumatics she dives into PP Hammer land...

There's some oddly-named computer stars in the C64's history - Jet Set Willy and Donkey Kong, to name a couple. But there's nothing odd about PP Hammer who with his trusty pneumatic tool, drills around in this racey platform romp from Demonware.

Mr PP Hammer is a dude with a mission [Sounds like he needs a toilet to me - Ed]. There's 70 levels of treasure and perils to explore and conquer in this platform extravaganza. PP's powerful piece (the pneumatic drill, that is) really gives him an edge when it comes to searching the castles caverns, catacombs and caves. Use it to dig through rocks to uncover treasure and potions, and also to escape from bogey-men. Be careful as he's only got so much energy and time otherwise it's bye bye!

There's loadsa hazards to watch out for - squidgy mud, slippery stones, trapdoors, loose roof stones, spikes, fire, water, fireballs and countless other enemies, some intelligent, others with IQs of three below a rocking horse. For protection, PP can always retreat into his hard helmet (a big yellow jobbie) when the going gets too tough.

Our hero jumps, crawls and boy can he drill!! Press the fire button and the direction you want to dig, keep the button pressed until the block disappears. But be warned! In a short time, the blocks reappear and if PP happens to be in the way, it's bye-bye Hammer - he's transformed into a angel and he flits off to the great white drill in the sky.

My only gripe about game is the lack of visual variations between the stages - a direct result of such a vast amount of screens, I'd have prefer a little more variety than so much of the same.

PP himself's a neat little character, with nicely animated moves and hilarious drill, although where he keeps it is a complete mystery to me [Use your imagination, woman - Ed]!

There's a great selection of haunting tunes to accompany the various geographical locations, i.e. Egypt, Rome, etc. It's a monster of a game, and should keep have you drilling into the early hours of the morning!

There are quite a few 'Hammer' characters around these days, aren't there readers? There's Sledge "Trust me I Know What I'm Doing" Hammer and MC 'Happy Breeks' Hammer. Now the latest addition to the ranks is here, PP Hammer with his pneumatic weapon (madam!).

Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Rick Dangerous, PP Hammer And His Pneumatic Weapon sees our hard-hat-wearing hero enter a huge platform maze. Frustration is the first order of the day, with many naughty words being uttered and joysticks flying across the room.

But with a few tranquillisers and a couple of hours practice, control is gained over our drill-wielding hero (cue chorus of 'I Want To Be Your Drill Instructor'). Graphically, the game is most triumphant, PP is a cute little fella in his blue strides, red top and bright yellow hard hat.

The enemy creatures are a real pain in the bum, especially on later levels when the players attention is focused on navigating the tortuous maze. But fans of Rick Dangerous-style games should certainly take a look.

Presentation 85%
Great loading screen, OK multi-load and password system

Graphics 77%
Fully animated hero, good backgrounds, sparse baddies

Sound 78%
Varied in-game sound, FX nothing to boast about

Hookability 79%
Addictive, and the password system avoids repetition

Lastability 76%
A big, if not overwhelmingly varied game. Compulsive

Overall 83%