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Let's get one thing straight right away - Seymour is the scariest mother of a lardball that there's ever been. And he's got a mouth. And teeth. (He is also possibly the only mother of a lardball in existence.) The loading screen alone is enough to scare any small children or old people who might just happen to be hanging around your Amstrad. It's small thanks, then, that this is the only extreme close-up you get of the lardy one, elsewhere in the game he's of a far more comfortable size.

If you've been good and read the last few copies of Amstrad Action then you'll already know what Wild West Seymour is about, you'll also know what the packaging looks like, all the personal foibles of the programmers and exactly who Richard Eddy is. For Wild West Seymour had the honour of being the game chosen for an in-depth, month-by-month look at how a game is made - from the boardroom to the shop shelves. And now is the moment of reckoning, it's time to find out what you may suspect, but don't actually know yet - is it any good?

Before we go into that here's a quick rundown of the plot, just in case you missed the last five issues of Amstrad Action. [Nobody would be so stupid - Ed] Seymour is a film star and he's about to start filming a new Western. The thing is, everything has gone horribly wrong. The film's missing, the microphones can't be found and the whole production has had to grind to a halt. This must be more than bad luck - this must be the work of El Bandeeto. (The baddie.) So before the film can even start, Seymour's got to sort things out.

There are four acts, or levels, to Wild West Seymour that see him travel across America, fighting Indians as they try to stop the train and halt Seymour's progress. One of the new features is the inclusion of a game genie. This little blighter holds the key to the next act. You've got to give him level codes and he'll let you pass. And that, basically, is the plot. Now onto the game. (At last!)

Three-year-olds seemed to manage Seymour Goes To Hollywood, and no doubt they'll do just as well with this one, but some of these puzzles are darn tricky. What do you do with a film when you can't find a tin or a camera? What do you do with a battery when you know it won't fit into the microphone? If you can sort out puzzles like this then you'll love Wild West Seymour - it's full of 'em. If you hate the very thought of combining two disparate objects then you're probably not even reading this review. (So we'll ignore you for the time being.)

The puzzles are clever and, however smart you are, it will take you a while to solve some of them. (No doubt the Cheat Mode pages will soon be full of tips!) The game's pace really does depend on how good you are, there's no time limit so you won't suddenly find yourself popping your clogs just as you're about to discover what the can of beans does. In fact, you can leave old Seymour balancing on a crate while you go off and have a cup of tea. When you get back, he'll still be there twiddling his thumbs and winking.

The graphics are very smart. Seymour, despite the fact that he's a scary mug, has been perfectly animated. You actually find yourself looking at him to see what he thinks you should do next. Spooky. My only quibble with the game is that the controls were a tad frustrating. After a while, it gets easier but, at first it can make you want to drown Seymour. (This is quite easy, there's some very handy ponds around.)

For some people, the main drawback with this little caper is the fact that it's a Seymour game. There's no escaping that fact, and Seymour games, like Dizzy games, are pretty much interchangeable. There's a formula to these games, but it's a well-loved formula. People know what they like and a heck of a lot of them like these puzzley, collect-'em-up games. The fans will go mad for this, and those who loathe Seymour and games of this ilk will go on about how they're all the same game and the only difference between this game and the others is what the objects do.

But that's not really the point. If you've ever read one Famous Five book, you're very likely to have read another. What you don't do is harp on about how they're all exactly the same and you always get the same people in them, and the adventure might be a bit different but it always works out all right in the end. Central characters, whether it be George and Timmy or Seymour and Dizzy have got to be consistent. It just wouldn't do for Dizzy to rush through New York warehouse laying waste to drug dealers, or for Seymour to suddenly develop a yearning to aim his crosshair at mercenaries. Codemasters have stuck to their formula because they know it works. Wild West Seymour will be enjoyed just as Seymour Goes To Hollywood was enjoyed. Why? Because it's a game which will appeal to a great many games-players, and because it's a good game. Buy it!

Graphics 84%
It's colourful and cartoony and you can see exactly what's going on, thanks to it being in Mode 1.

Sonics 88%
A real Big Country theme that'll have you whistling along in seconds. Very smart.

Grab Factor 78%
If you're good at working out what a battery pack is for then you'll be hooked straight away...

Staying Power 82%
Seymour looks so snide that you end up wanting to drown the miserable little blighter...

Overall 82%
It's a typical Seymour game and although it's all familiar stuff it's still a lot of fun. Frustrating at times, but fun.