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Two years after his monumental battle against the Evil Toy Goblin and his nasty toys, Thing On A Spring (Zzap!'s alternative margin hero) is back in a new adventure.

This time the action takes place in an enormous 11 section factory complex run by the goblin. This vile troublemaker is back, and is using the factory to produce a huge army of evil toys. Thing is here to close down the production line and bring the evil goblin to justice, a task which requires him to enter every section of the factory and recover the tape, floppy disk, listing paper and ROM found in each.

Each section comprises a scrolling area filled with a jumble of platforms, elevators, lifts, pipes, hazards and traps, as well as the evil goblin's hordes. Thing uses the elevators, lifts, pipes and his own spring to move about, with this movement resulting in the use of oil, represented as a bar which diminishes to zero. Contact with the goblin's minions also depletes oil supplies, so Thing jumps on them to kill them. Thing has three oil supplies at the beginning of the quest, with all the mission ending when all have been used.

Scattered liberally throughout each location are 'mystery plates' which reveal a surprise object when touched. Some yield bonus points, others give extra ol' bonus lives or little springs which are used as weapons against the goblin's minions. Others conceal deadly weights which plummet down on Thing's head if he doesn't move away quickly.

There are also the four vital pieces of equipment dotted around. When they've been collecting, Thing uses an exit port to enter the scrolling ventilation shafts which link all eleven sections of the factory. Once inside the system he tumbles helplessly, and has to be guided to an exit port before his oil runs out.

Sometimes touching a mystery plate sets off a trap, shutting off parts of the screen. In this situation Thing either has to quit the screen, or exit before all four pieces of equipment are collected. When he returns, all mystery plates conceal weights, making progress very difficult.

Defeating the Evil Goblin requires not only an understanding of factory's workings but also the ability to avoid the many hazards and traps which filter the environment. When all the components have finally been found, the Evil Goblin's plan can be thwarted and the threat to the safety of toyland averted.

Thing's back after a two year delay, and I'm glad to say the wait has been worth it! What's most impressive about Thing Bounces Back is its sheer depth of gameplay. A route around each of the eleven large scrolling sections has to be worked out, which means negotiating an awful lot of hazards and traps in each - a task which should perplex even the toughest of video players for weeks.

The factory is full of strange machinery, some that appeared in Thing On A Spring, like slides, elevators and jumps mats, and some new stuff, such as the ventilator shafts, pipes and mystery plates.

The graphics are unusual but effective, with garish colour schemes on some of the backdrops and cartoonesque sprites (Thing's new red nose looks a bit silly, though). The sound effects are brilliant, although the music varies from good on the title screen, to horribly screechy when Thing enters the ventilator system.

Thing Bounces Back is a worthy successor to Thing On A Spring, and should be looked up by anyone brave enough to undertake the tough challenge it offers.

I have to admit to being no great fan of the original Thing On A Spring - I found it far too frustrating. With this second venture into the surreal world of the springy superhero, Gremlin have almost fulfilled the promise of the first.

Although more playable; however Things Bounces Back lacks the character of the original: the graphics lacking the cartoon quality of Thing On A Spring and the redesigned sprite doesn't appeal as much.

Not a bad buy, but beware: It's exceptionally devious and will have you tearing your hair out just as much as the original, although for different reasons.

Although Thing II is very original, well put together and generally highly polished, it doesn't grab me at all.

The frenzied speed coupled with a weird control system means that it is easy to move around without thinking, and that can quite often get you stuck in some little section of the playing and cost you the game - infuriating ain't the word. The ventilator section is a neat touch, but it becomes a pain in the neck after a relatively short time.

Presentation 83%
A pleasant title screen and excellent in-game presentation.

Graphics 84%
Effective, colourful backdrops, and amusing cartoon-style sprites.

Sound 75%
Three tunes and some brilliant spot effects complement the action.

Hookability 92%
Confusing at first, but the action is addictive from the start.

Lastability 83%
With its large map to explore and wealth of hazards to overcome, there's plenty to keep a player happy for weeks.

Overall 86%
An unusual and challenging arcade adventure which is a worthy sequel to Thing On A Spring.