In a refreshing departure from their complicated, serious arcade adventures, Gargoyle Games has launched upon an unsuspecting public a cross between E.T., Stan Laurel and C3PO. Hes got the weirdest sense of humour of any robot I've ever met and lives in a world populated by little Hitlers, big sprouting fingers and nervous geese.

Each Self-Willed Extreme Environment Vocational Organism (SWEEVO) has to clear up a planet in order to enter human service. Sweevo has been allocated a planet peopled by genetic experiments and the instructions and scenario are peppered with puns and silliness that should raise a smile or two. The game itself also has its funny moments with the cutely animated Sweevo getting into some *very* odd situations.

There are four starting locations for the game and you can select which one Sweevo will parachute into using his trusty umbrella. The first thing you notice is the graphical similarity to the filmation technique used in Ultimate's Knight Lore and Alien 8 games. Each room is shown in a 3D, diagonal view with the stretch-necked Sweevo shuffling about the place in diagonal directions. The rooms are full of wacky objects, mostly fruit, skulls and gravestones, and puzzles which have to be solved. In this respect it differs from the Ultimate games - there are many more types of puzzle, features, humour and transport methods.

To clean up the planet, Sweevo has to kill off all its living organisms. These take four forms: Wijus are odd beasts with horned heads that have to be wasted, tyrants are little Hitlers with moustache and salute who have to be trounced, minxes are annoying creatures who have to be mashed and geese waddle about, waiting to be ghosted. There's a special method for killing each of them but you'll have to find it four yourselves.

In his quest to kill off all these mutants Sweevo has to watch out for many dangers that can injure or kill him. Bumping into fruit, skulls, gravestones and other features will knock him down, weakening his energy. This is represented by an enlargement of Sweevo's face which gradually turns more unhappy and gaunt until it becomes a skull and he dies. Other objects can be instantly lethal like one ton weights and finders. The weights are suspended on pillars that dissolve when bumped into and crush anything underneath, fingers are disgusting projections that thrust upwards out of the ground and then disappear, killing you if you happen to have been standing on top of that spot.

There are objects that can be collected from many of the puzzlers contained in the game like tins, boots, teddy bears, boos and brownies (?!). What you do with them is another mystery to work out but collecting most of them requires a satisfying mixture of logical thinking and good reactions. Cracking puzzles gives you a real kick and although they aren't as touch or complicated as Gargoyle's previous games they're a lot more fun.

One nice touch is the methods for getting between levels in the game. Sweevo can stand on explosive pads that bounce him up a level or drop through holes in the floor where he floats down under his umbrella. Lifts also play an important part in many locations and are activated just by standing on them.

The humour and graphics in the game are great with some teasing puzzles to solve and plenty of game to explore. The similarity to previous games doesn't matter at all because there are too many original touches to keep you occupied. A marvellous departure for Gargoyle, showing that they have more than one string to their talented bow.

One of the most endearing things about the game is the delightful graphics that keep occuring. Sweevo himself wanders around looking gormless and cute with his silly, long neck displaying real star quality when he gets boosted to another level or floats down one.

Some of the dangers are just as well done, particularly the tyrant and fingers. The tyrant is an obvious Hitler with a straight arm salute and a daft little black moustache as he struts about looking imperial. The fingers are truly grotesque but really do look good as they rise up and down presenting a serious threat to poor Sweevo.

P. Great 3D graphics. P. Good sense of humour in instructions and graphics. P. Testing puzzles to work out. P. Delightful screen designs and features. P. Large, complicated playing area.

N. Some similarities to other games.

The initial reaction of "Oh no, not another Ultimate-ish 3D game" is very rapidly replaced by astonishment at the brilliance of the graphics and the wit of the gameplay. It really is an enchanting arcade adventure, with some tough and very funny puzzles. Sweevo himself (itself?) is a weird-looking crittur who quickly insinuates himself (itself?) into your affections - it's a sad moment when the grinning Stan Laurelish face turns into a horrible skull. But this is a game which is going to give you a lot more laughs than tears on your way to a solution.

Bob Wade