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Tiki the Kiwi has a problem: his pals have been invited to tea by Wally Walrus - as the main course!

Without further ado, the flightless New Zealander sets out on a rescue mission. Armed only with a bow and arrow, he enters Wally's domain, intent on thwarting his evil plans and getting his friends back to the safety of Auckland zoo. Wally Walrus has his caverns well guarded, however, with his cronies ranging from boomerang-wielding aborigines to blood sucking bats.

So Tiki sets off jumping onto platforms, over walls, and generally flattening the opposition. He reaches a cage, opens it, and the first Kiwi is free! Only 19 more to go.

The New Zealand Story is an immensely playable platform game, having that undefined quality that keeps you coming back for more. The action is fast and furious, each level having a time limit which counts down to the appearance on an invincible so there's no time to hang around. Collision with most nasties doesn't actually kill you, but they are all armed with a variety of missiles, which most certainly do. Occasionally, a creature drops a weapon instead of fruit which can be collected for even better firepower. Some baddies are on balloons, which can be hijacked and used to get to difficult sections. There are underwater scenes where Tiki dons a swimsuit and must keep re-surfacing for oxygen.

Everything fits together well to make the gameplay spot on. The continuous background instantly hummable tune is cute enough to make your toes curl (Stock & Co could get half a dozen number ones out of it - it really is that bad!). Spot sound effects are fairly basic.

The thing that lets the game down badly, however, is its abysmal graphics, which are ill-defined and blocky. Some have a tendency to merge in with the background, making them difficult to spot. The arcade machine's great attraction was its cuteness. and this has not come across on the CPC. Sad to say, poor graphics spoil what would otherwise be an excellent game.

Going for the cutesy vote is fine, so long as you hit the mark. The New Zealand Story quite simply doesn't, because the graphics are so poor. Rather a pity, but there is is.

No better, and no worse.

Graphics 20%
N. The CPC is capable of much better.

Sonics 60%
P. Cute, sugarsweet tune...
N. ...that drives you mad very soon!

Grab Factor 70%
P. Easy to get going, and you'll want to keep going, too.

Staying Power 88%
P. 20 progressive screens.

Overall 65%
Nice game, shame about the graphics.