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They're mean, they're green, and they're on your screen! Those sewer-dwelling amphibians have appeared in comics, on TV, and in the movies. Now they've moved from the cinema, and hit your monitor screens. What a mess, it'll take ages to scrape them off...!

The game isn't a licence from the film. Instead, it offers an alternative plot that involves the scaly superheros and all your other favourite characters. There are evil goings on in New York City, and as you might expect, Shredder and his foot clan are behind it all.

First, April O'Neil, ace reporter and turtle chum, has been kidnapped. The fab four need to fight their way through Shredder's evil minions, and rescue the distressed damsel.

Only one turtle can be controlled at a time. You can choose between them any time you're above ground. The turtles act, in effect, as your four lives. They don't get killed, though, only captured. There's little to choose between them. Although each has a different weapon to attack with, they all have the same knockout effect on the baddies they bash.

The game starts above ground. The turtles are tiny up here and are vulnerable to the attacks of bulldozers and roaming ninjas. There are portals aplenty to the sewers, though, and it's through these that the turtles must make their way to free the captive newsgirl.

The sewers too have their dangers. Giant mutated creatures guard them, giant bees, frogs and eyeballs keep you at bay. They follow preset patterns, though, simply moving left and right or up and down. To kill them, simply stand near them and swing your weapon. If you do blunder into them then energy is lost.

Scattered throughout the sewers are pizzas to replenish your depleting strength. Extra weapons can be found, too. Sometimes it's worth visiting a section of sewer that you know leads nowhere, just to stock up on these vital extras.

Two end-of-sewer guardians have to be overcome before April can finally be freed. These need to be hit several tunes before they succumb to the blows of your weapon. They keep on advancing towards you, so you need to duck and dive and go in for the occasional strike to finish them off.

Once you've rescued April, there's no time to rest! The foot clan have planted bombs in the city dam, and you have to choose one of your heroes to defuse the devices before the city's flooded!

There are several bombs planted inside the dam, but - thankfully - simply swimming into them defuses them. Laser beams span the channels, though, proving harmful should you attempt to get through at the wrong moment. And there is a stria time limit as the bombs tick down, so speed is of the essence, and you need to plunge through as quickly as possible regardless of the danger to yourself. If you don't make it in time then it's game over, no matter how many turtles you may have left.

Level Three sees you searching for a machine that can turn shredder back from a rat into the man he once was. You're back on the surface again, but this time you have the advantage of the turtle wagon - you can run your enemies over with it. Apart from that, it's much like the first part, switching between upper and lower levels.

The scrolling is good in all sections of the game. On the surface it's very fast and smooth, while in the sewers there's a superb parallax effect. Graphics too are excellent, especially in the underground sequences. They're large, and easily recognisable. Bright colours have been chosen, and they fit in well with the whole turtle atmosphere.

By comparison, sound is disappointing. An unrecognisable tune plays when you first load the game and once you enter the fray sound consists solely of rude rasps.

On the first few goes you come a cropper frequently. Once you've sussed out how to handle each particular section, though, progress is rapid. The different sections do add variety, but it's still kept at a very simple level.

The simple controls and readily-identifiable graphics will appeal to turtle fans of the younger age group everywhere, but it may be a bit limited for serious gamers. Still, Turtles will sell on the name alone, so it's a good thing the game's not a turtle waste of time...!

Turtles was a pleasant surprise - the graphics are great and the gameplay much deeper than I was expecting. Not a game to absorb the more mature gamesplayer for long, but a highly decent outing for the young 'uns.

Rescue April O'Neil.

Graphics 84%
P. Big, bold and instantly-recognisable characters.

Sonics 46%
N. Not brilliant.

Grab Factor 81%
P. Easy to control and lots of variety.

Staying Power 72%
N. A bit limited in the long run.

Overall 76%
P. Turtles ain't bad, despite the hype!