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In January, Alligata released Blagger for the Commodore 64, one of a number of Manic Miner derivatives. Son Of Blagger takes the platform game idea one stage further.

What makes it special is that the room through which your character is wandering is much bigger than the screen itself. The screen is simply a window on to the room which scrolls in four directions to keep the character always in the centre of the picture.

This innovation means that the rooms can contain a more complicated obstacle course than those in other platform games. Son Of Blagger contains a total of 12 large, interconnected rooms, making up a single giant complex.

This complex is supposed to be the National Security HQ from which Blagger's son Slippery Sid is trying to escape. He needs to collect all the keys he finds to make his way through the numerous sections of the building.

All the normal features of a platform game are included in Son Of Blagger. There are floors that disappear beneath your feet; conveyor belts which drag you off in the wrong direction; ladders that will move you up automatically; the ever- present deadly bushes; and slides - if Sid ends up at the bottom of one of these, it's not always possible to get back up. Oh, by the way, make sure that you don't bump into any of the security guards on your way down a slide!

The security guards are obviously created out of some mad scientist's nightmare. There are boots, ghosts, hearts - some of the guards are so weird that even Alligata don't have a name for them! And all are depicted in chunky, colourful graphics.

On the reverse of the instruction sheet, Alligata have supplied a map of the whole complex showing all 12 rooms. Planning your route is the only way to get all of the keys.

This has got to be the best platform-type games around for the C64.