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It seems like there are more Kong-derivative games for the Beeb machines than for any other home micro. Why, I don't know, but it does seem to be true. Superior have at least two - this game, Wallaby and Smash And Grab.

Wallaby, a marsupial misnomer if ever I heard one, is closest to the original, but even then it has been developed into something new. You control a boxing kangaroo who is trying to rescue her (?) joey from the clutches of the evil monkeys.

The infant is incarcerated on the top floor of a series of platforms joined by ladders. Defending the child from your rescue attempts are a number of rather nasty monkeys.

They are particularly anti-social as they delight in throwing their apple cores at you and if these hit you you lose a life.

You can avoid the monkeys and their deadly foodstuffs by jumping over them but there is a more direct method. Being a boxing kangaroo you find it surprisingly easy to knock out your opponents and you can dispose of their weapons in the same way.

However, getting through is by no means easy. The large number of monkeys and apple cores zooming around make life very difficult. You also have to contend with six control keys - up, down, left, right, jump and box. The latter results in the kangaroo thrusting out a fist at the approaching enemy.

The game's graphics are a little disappointing as they are small and insignificant. However, considering that they are a single character size the programmer's done well.

Sound is fairly good and animation is very smooth. The game has a nice addictive quality and I played it for hours.

OK, it's not an original game, but there are some neat touches. I think the wallaby's a great character. Beautiful the way it hops along doing, doing, doing... and then suddenly, when you press 'jump' leaps twice as high.

Overall, it's a nice piece of programming. I enjoyed it!

When you read the instructions while loading this game, you may break into a sweat thinking, "Could this be an original game?" Well, Superior Software have realised that modern arcade games are almost impossible to implement on a humble micro - even a BBC Micro! - so they have decided to rip off a game for the Atari VCS!

Admittedly, Wallaby has been improved with better graphics, animation and sound. It is even addictive and challenging. However, there's no getting away from the fact that a rip-off is a rip-off.

It's about time software houses brought out original games!