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I've just bought a Wildhearts CD, you know. The music's really good, but I've got one problem with it. They've got a drummer called Bam Bam. That's right, Bam Bam. This is not something you call a child. "And here's AA newie Bam Bam Forrester" - it just doesn't work. This is not a musician, it's a Flintstones character. [Oh no, I see a really tacky link coming up! - Ed] Speaking of The Flintstones, why is it that their cat (the one that kicks Fred out of the house in the ending sequence) never appears in the actual program? I lie awake at night thinking about this. [I lie awake wondering why Fred doesn't just go back in through the window like the cat did! - Ed]

Anyway, I loaded up Prehistorik 2 on a 6128 Plus (The game is slightly - emphasis on slightly - different on the two machine ranges) purely for the extra effects, sound, etc. Like last month's Super Cauldron, the game opens up with a sequence of little arrows, etc, to align the screen, select CRTC chips, etc, eliminating the problems that Zap 'T' Balls had (the fact that the chances of it all working well on your machine are minimal!).

Once you've dispensed with all the formal stuff, the title screen starts. Some beautifully blended colours create a prehistoric volcano, and lots of nicely drawn credit boxes belt round the place. In the background, there's a ripping little tune, with sampled guitars, a healthy bass line, and a nice drum beat. It's all in stereo, and beautifully arranged to make the most of the Plus's extra sound facilities. But that's just an intro screen...

And into the game. The first level opens with Prehistorik (imaginative name, huh?) standing around doing nothing. A strange bear-type thing claws its way out of the ground, and ambles up towards you. A quick flick of the fire button, and Rik pulls a club from his leopard skins and thrashes the bear clean across the screen. This has set the pace for the rest of this game. Thrash the bad guys, and don't get eaten. If one of the other hungry residents of Hungerland does get their hands on you, you'll lose one of the three energy points that make up a life. You start with three lives, by the way. However, when you do finally kill the wee beastie, his bones scatter about the place. Pick all these up, and you've got your energy point back. The various creatures have another use - by jumping on their heads, you can gain extra height in jump, also doubling the point bonus for squishing the thing afterwards.

Add to the formula caves, passages, lifts, trap doors, moving floors, deadly spikes, sunset spells, mallets, battle axes, and a variety of other bits and pieces, and you've got Prehistorik 2.

It must be the simplicity of this game that makes it so appealing - okay, you've got loads of different obstacles, bad guys, settings and locations, but in the end it's just a run-around-and-complete-all-the-levels-'em-up. It's simple. It requires no seriously taxing brain work, just a good reflex or two, and a head for exploration.

The baddies you will come across are varied. There are bears (probably the most irritating of all your adversaries), tortoises (who just plod about the place), birds (they just flap slowly and lazily around the sky, waiting to eat someone), sabre-toothed tigers (with a penchant for leaping), spiders (who occasionally get off their little silky threads and go for you), wasps (very dangerous), dragonflies (what can anyone possibly say about dragonflies?), huge gorillas (as an end of level baddie), lizards (well, sort of dinosaurs, really), and so much more.

The settings vary as well. From the start of the game, which is based in a rocky kind of place, through jungles, ice ages, etc. This variety in theme makes for a more entertaining game, and a much better marker of progress than levels themselves.

Of course, as with all games there are a few things that lessen the mind rush of wonder a little. One of these is a slightly small scroll margin. You see, there will be times when you'll drop down onto a platform, but the screen doesn't scroll quite well enough to allow you to see what's below you, to drop onto it. Unlike other faults though, this one does prove to be a little irritating, as the only way to explore sometimes is to die in the process. This is only occasional though, so don't end it all just yet.

Next fault, being bad guy regeneration. For instance, you can run up to a bear, and waste it, but straight after, another bear could come climbing out of the earth and take away vital health points. This is no fun. It would have been a lot better to have only one baddie appearing in any one place, and unforeseeable death is always a detraction for a game. This can be overcome, as it doesn't make the game less playable, just more difficult - you have to be permanently on your guard - but isn't that what arcade games are all about anyway?

It's at around about this time of the review that I go on to talk about the various qualities (and otherwise) of a game (usually the one I'm reviewing). Which brings us round to the subject of graphics. And a problem - I can't find any faults! You see, the graphics are excellent. Not just good, but truly excellent. Rik is the height of cute, with some fabulously cartoony poses. The bad guys all move well, with no speed loss when the screen fills up with them. The sprites are huge on occasion, with absolutely no flicker as they move quickly and smoothly around the screen. The scrolling has to be seen to be believed. The screen moves effortlessly about, keeping up with Rik, with absolutely no problem.

Sonically, Prehistorik 2 is unsurpassed. The theme tune is outstanding, setting up that initial cute an bouncy theme that sticks throughout the game. Apparently, the music was created using an updated version of Soundtrakker (reviewed Amstrad Action 92), which has the capacity for using sampled instruments in tunes. The in-game tune is a little less impressive (perhaps that's just as well!), and so doesn't intrude on the game playing at all.

Sound effects are beautifully balanced. Noises all blend nicely together, and club-swishing mingles nicely with baddie-dying. The one thing you absolutely must do when you get this game (you *will* get this game) is wear headphones while playing. The whole thing turns into a wonderful sonic experience.

Grab factor. Flashy intro sequences aside, when you start up this game, all you see is a bloke, a landscape, and a bear. Fab. Wow. It's when you move the blokey and club your first bear that things really get addictive. Prehistorik 2 has an instant appeal that doesn't wear off.

You see, they've got the balance perfect with Prehistorik 2. Each time you play, you'll progress a little further, and each time you get a little further, you discover something new and exciting enough to make you come back for more time and time again. Also, you'll find yourself mastering the lower levels, and getting more and more proficient at wasting the bears, etc, with less scrapes.

So all in all, Prehistorik 2 is a well balanced, nicely presented game. On playing it, you'll get slightly irritated by the odd thing, but not enough to make you bin the disc, and certainly not enough to impair the game in any major way. It's nice to see that Elmar's subject material has matured slightly since Zap 'T' Balls (slightly tatty).

What more can be said? It really is a great game, and well worth the price tag. It's been a while since we've seen many full pricers 'round these parts, but Super Cauldron and Prehistorik 2 more than make up for the drought. At the time of writing, Titus have not announced any more scheduled releases, but here's hoping we some more stuff from them fairly soon...

The one major thing to bear in mind when reading this review is that the game does play differently on a normal CPC than on a Plus. The differences are nothing major, and are more on the presentation side (a tune being slightly less impressive, and a few less colours), but the game plays just as well.

There is one feature on the normal CPC that seems to have been left out of the Plus version (for whatever reason), being the scrolling messages. You see, when you grab a load of fruit, etc, or when you knock off a particularly hefty bad guy, you'll get a huge faster message scrolling through the sky, giving various encouraging phrases (some of which are, to be honest, more than a little cheesy).

So if you've got a normal CPC, read this review anyway, and still consider buying the game - nothing changes but the presentation (which is still very good).

Graphics 92%
They're fab, but the normal CPC mode isn't quite as impressive as Super Cauldron. Fab nonetheless.

Sonics 95%
The music is unbelievable, the sound effects are nicely created, and everything blends well.

Grab Factor 94%
From the moment you bring your club down onto that first bear's head, the game takes you over.

Staying Power 93%
If you liked Super Cauldron, or you like console-style games, you really should take a look.

Overall 96%
Hurrah!