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This summer's most outstanding animated movie, The Road To El Dorado from Dreamworks Pictures, has arrived on your tiny Game Boy Color screens! From a cursory glance you'd be forgiven for shouting at the top of your voice "Flippin' heck! Not another dull platform adventure!" Admittedly, with its moving blocks, spikes, snakes and ladders, Gold And Glory: The Road To El Dorado could certainly be seen as yet another uninspired movie tie-in, but it's just so much fun! Plus, most importantly, it's a very well made game. Action-wise, there are many similarities to practically every other dull, lame-brained excuse for a platform game (Men In Black 2) but it's a joy to play.

The graphics are brilliantly detailed, the characters move smoothly and handle well and there's enough variety throughout the twenty-ish levels to keep you hooked. Similarities to Prince Of Persia abound, but the cartoon fun balances this out. In-between every few levels on the road to El Dorado there's a different battle, from fighting cougars and fleeing from a rampaging bull to playing basketball with a giant Inca! It's thanks to these inspired little mini-games that The Road To El Dorado is so compelling. The game's creators have made such an effort with the graphics and these extra touches that you want to see how it all ends - a rare feeling with most platform games.

You take on the role of either Miguel or Tulio, a couple of Spanish wideboys on the make. Armed with your trusty sword, you have to make your way from the tiny Spanish Village, full of pesky bullfighters and guards, to the very heart of the legendary city of El Dorado, where the streets are literally paved with gold!

In the early levels you have to collect six pieces of the ancient map that leads you (and a ship full of black-hearted conquistadors) to South America. You can collect hundreds of gold coins on the way, leading you to your ultimate goal - getting rich. At least, that's the plan, but you also have to overcome the machinations of the evil High Priest Tzekel-Kan as he pits you against killer cats and vicious natives, not happy about your plans to swipe their precious metal.

Visually, the game is head and shoulders above most movie tie-ins, and the sound has been carefully crafted to stand out amongst other screeching titles. The game itself offers a practically irritatingly difficult challenge in the later levels, so even those seasoned platform players will have to keep a pen and paper handy to remember those level codes.

Unfortunately, once you have fought your way to the heart of the golden city, and completed the game, there's not an enormous amount left to do. However, there is always the Ubi-Key feature. Using the infrared port and another Ubisoft game with the Ubi-Key feature, you can unlock hidden levels and other secrets stashed away in the mystical bowels of El Dorado.

Fans of the movie and lovers of quality platform adventures should get a lot out of El Dorado, and hopefully it will show other movie tie-in game designers, the level of quality that can be achieved with an out-dated game-style. Just make the adventure last.

You placed gold... on my finger! I agree with Jem, this is actually a decent movie tie-in that's lots of fun to play and has some really great mini-games. Ubisoft has really put a lot of effort into the graphics and sound effects, capturing the essence of the big screen version perfectly.

This is one platform game that I recommend wholeheartedly!

Graphics 100%
Smoothly rendered.

Sound 80%
Thanks to Elton John.

Playability 100%
Old hat, but enthralling.

Lastability 40%
A bit too easy.

Overall 77%
A golden example of platform adventuring.