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Remember Tintin? That loveable little rascal with the stupid dog and the ridiculous quiff? A few minutes of cartoon preceded by a ten minute explanation of what happened in the previous episodes? The diabolical game we reviewed on the CPC quite some time ago? Tintin On The Moon, Infogrames' rather odd licence, finally makes it onto cartridge... but will instant loading and enhanced hardware features make any difference?

Tintin is a pretty unlucky little chap. While most boys his age are playing footie or snogging girlfriends, Tintin is getting into scrapes with vicious criminals. This time, things are even worse than usual. Tintin is about to be launched into space on a perilous mission to the moon.

The evil Colonel Bons has planted bombs on Tintin's rocket, and taken several people prisoner. Your job, as Tintin, is to rescue all of these prisoners, and to defuse the bombs.

The game starts with you flying a rocket into the screen and into deep space. The object of this section is to avoid the asteroids and pick up the energy restoring crystals. You must collect eight red spheres to continue to the next stage.

Once all eight red spheres have been picked up. Tintin suddenly finds himself out of the driver's seat and in the midst of the action. Guide Tintin through a platform-filled screen, defusing bombs and rescuing prisoners. Instead of jumping, Tintin has the ability to turn off the ship's artificial gravity, allowing him to float to otherwise inaccessible platforms.

On his way around the many screens that make up the rocket, Tintin will have to put out a number of fires, but first he has to find the extinguisher. This extinguisher can also be used as a weapon against the baddies roaming the rocket.

To complete this level, Tintin has to put out all of the fires, rescue all of the prisoners, and capture the dastardly Colonel Boris. Boris is a tricky guy to recognise, never mind capture. When you do spot the shifty looking sucker, you have to sneak up behind him and jump him. Tintin obviously has no sense of honour or fair play Still. Boris is a nasty crim and he deserves whatever he gets.

The final section is the moon landing. In this bit, you have to regulate the speed of the rocket's engine, and ensure a safe and smooth landing. If this section is handled well enough, you should plop down on the moon's surface quite nicely. All of your remaining energy at this point will be converted into score. Now you can do it all over again...

The main problem with Tintin, and you might think this a minor niggle, is that it is *duff*!

The game has very few saving graces, in fact its only good point is a nice intro sequence, which is well drawn and nicely animated (and completely misleading).

The gameplay is mind-numbingly tedious; the first section being a bore of truly historical significance. In fact, the first section is simple to the point of stupidity, and serves only to delay the start of the actual game. Once reached, the limitations of the platform section soon become evident. The whole rocket section seems pointless and dull, and it is very easy to complete.

The presentation graphics are lovely, and so it is a disappointment to discover the actual game screens. The graphics on all levels are chunky, garish and very confusing.

The price point of 25 quid is outrageous, especially for a game which shows no noticeable improvement over its tape-based predecessor. This program should be avoided at all costs.

Tintin had little to recommend it in the tape version, and has even less going for it on cartridge. No improvements have been made, and consequently the game is as dire as it ever was.

Complete the game!

Graphics 61%
When they aren't bland, they're garish. Very poor for the most part.

Sonics 75%
Decent tunes and spot fx do little to improve, er, atmosphere.

Grab Factor 53%
Limited interest initially, marred by pointless and frustrating first section.

Staying Power 40%
Dull and easy, the kiss of death for any game, especially this one.

Overall 47%
If Tintin isn't your number one idol, then don't cross the street to buy this one.