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Three years of being endlessly re-run on cinemas across the globe and not being released on video have taken their toll on Mowgli the man cub. There was a time when he was quite willing to jaunt around the jungle meeting all the nice 'n nasty inhabitants and sing lovely songs like "Bear Necessities".

But no longer. Mowgli is a man cub on the edge, on thin ice, on the brink. Deciding that he's had enough, he packs his pants full of bananas and sets out into the jungle, dealing curved-fruit death to any of the jungle's inhabitants that see fit to attack him.

Apart from Mowgli's homicidal tendencies, this game is actually remarkably similar to the original Walt Disney classic. All of the excellent characters from the film are in there, either aiding Mowgli or taking the form of evil end-of-level bosses that Mowgli must annihilate in order to continue!

Sinister, eh?

The platform game genre is dusted down and has a Jungle Book facelift.

Guide Mowgli around the platform levels and complete each stage's main objective.

The actual gameplay involved in The Jungle Book is remarkably straightforward. At the beginning of each level, Mowgli is charged with a task to perform. This might be simply to collect eight gems, or just reach a certain part of the level.

Once this is complete, Mowgli moves on to the next level. Huzzah!

...And the surprise is that bunches of bananas often yield super-valuable power-ups. Look out for extra continues (disguised as leaves!), 1-Ups and extra energy. Perhaps the most useful power-up is the boomerang. Most jungle meanies take several hits to destroy. Collect the boomerang and only one hit is required to take out anything short of an end-of-level boss.

Mowgli's trail of banana-devastation pits him up against some of the most lovable bosses ever devised for a videogame. The first boss to bite the dust is the hypnotising snake from hell, Kaa (the game's helpful instruction here is simply "Destroy Kaa!").

The next character on Mowgli's hitlist is King Louis himself. Take him on in his own palace, but mind the falling rocks!

I can't say that I spend much time on the Master System. However, this month, there has been a veritable avalanche of quality 8-bit product. First Domark's Desert Strike, then Cool Spot and now The Jungle Book. This is truly excellent stuff, with some smart graphics and compelling gameplay.

I even took this one home to play over the weekend. Although the kill-everything-that-moves gameplay is hardly in keeping with the gentle film, the action is fast and playable enough to bring you back for more. Once the controls have been sussed, the game is a bit easy, but I really enjoyed playing it. One of the best 8-bit games I've played in months.

Master System owners are spoiled for choice when it comes to decent platform games what with the likes of Asterix, Sonic, Mickey Mouse and (now) The Jungle Book.

Whilst this lacks the depth of some of those games (Mickey Mouse in particular), this is still an excellent Master System product. The graphics capture the style of the movie extremely well and I was hooked to the game for quite a while. The response on the jump button seems a bit strange and a died quite often until I got the hang of it.

That apart though, an excellent 8-bit title and a credit to Virgin's programming staff.

Presentation 78%
P. A nice polished feel to the game itself, but...
N. Other than that, the game is unspectacular in the presentation stakes.

Graphics 90%
P. Absolutely fabulous graphics capture the spirit of The Jungle Book film very well.

Sound 78%
P. Okayish Master System renditions of the classic Jungle Book songs...
N. But the effects are a tad poor if the truth be told.

Playability 88%
P. The game is very fast and easy to get into, with the early levels teaching you the necessary skills to get through the tougher stages.

Lastability 84%
P. Getting through some of the later levels takes some doing, and the interest level while you attempt this remains very high indeed.

Overall 88%
A tad lacking in the depth department perhaps, but The Jungle Book is still an excellent platform game, well worth investing in if you're after a quality 8-bit product.