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"I think you should do some work this month, Broadley," said Steve, "to justify that six figure sum we're paying you." So here I am, joystick at the ready to dive into the depths with Rick, or Rick Dangerous as our hero prefers to he known.

He stars in a platform adventure complicated by dozens of puzzles. Make a wrong move and a spear flies out of the wall, or a huge stone lands on Rick's head, or he lands on a collection of spikes in such a way as would most definitely bring tears to the eyes. Beware crumbling, bouncing floors and the lava pits!

The character Rick, a less muscular version of Indiana Jones meets Wild Bill Hickok, uses a gun, dynamite and stick to blast, shoot and poke his way out of trouble. His adventures take place in exotic locations such as South American temples and an Egyptian tomb, and involve passing through four different levels by dodging spears, natives and other nasties. The emphasis is very definitely on humour, and the characters are more like cartoon figures than war heroes. The natives, far from being revolting, even die laughing!

Action commences when Rick descends into an Aztec temple hotly pursued by a rolling rock (Indie fans take note). Bounding out of the way Rick moves into the main temple area, which looks more like a mine than a temple. Be prepared to hone your joystick skills, because much bending, leaping and lunging is required to move from screen to screen and escape the guards. Each move upwards or sideways onto the next wooden ladder or walkway is prevented by natives, who have to be shot or, to save bullets, jumped over. There are also traps triggered by Rick moving past them, so beware!

Along the way Rick collects gold masks which bump up his score, though since there's no high score table it's not always worth bothering: saving bullets is more important, and the natives usually have to be killed to gain the booty.

Ammunition stores are replenished if Rick loses one of his six lives, but more bullets and dynamite sticks can also be obtained along the way. Part of the skill of the game is to remember where these are and to use ammunition frugally. Doing away with a guard adds 50 points to your score (100 if you blow him away with the dynamite - make sure you don't do Rick in at the same time!). It's much more interesting, however, to progress through the levels rather than accumulating some irrelevant high score.

The game's strongest feature is its graphics, full of very amusing little cartoon characters. The Amazonian indians, for instance, resemble squat Popeyes, who for some odd reason lose their clothes when they are killed, and fly across and down the screen wearing only nappies and blue goggles!

Even better are the Egyptians, doing a hilarious sand dance in full Pharoah headress and leaping spectacularly when zapped. These guys really crack me up, and rank with the more gruesome monsters of Barbarian II.

Graphics in general are excellent, as is the use of colour, with the dark blue, damp and mysterious temple contrasting neatly with the yellow and red Egyptian tomb that actually makes you feel all hot and sandy.

Rick Dangerous requires an enquiring mind and a good degree of skill, since combining the accumulation of points with keeping Rick alive and finding out how to get through the levels means remembering how the traps are triggered and solving the puzzles to progress further. If you found Barbarian II funny, or enjoyed games such as Bubble Bobble or Skweek you'll love Rick Dangerous as much as I do. As I mentioned, though, I've been stuck in the Egyptian tomb for eons trying to figure out to get past the invisible ladder and the deadly spike. If you figure out the solution let your pal Em know - it's driving me absolutely crackers!

I'm not being ageist when I say this is a great fun game that younger players especially will enjoy, because I love it too. The only people who won't like it will be those who like gore and blood and hate humour. It's excellent!

Just as funny, just as much fun!

Reach level two.

Graphics 92%
P. Exceptionally good sprites.
P. And the funniest sprite movement of the year.

Sonics 72%
P. Amusingly done footsteps and "Aargh!" type sounds.
N. And that's about all.

Grab Factor 83%
P. Not hard to make progress.
P. And you restart where you got to.

Staying Power 85%
P. Four missions should keep you going for some time.

Overall 83%
P. A great action game with tons of puzzles and oodles of humour.