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When Miner 2049'er was released on an unsuspecting Atari computer-owning public some two or three years ago, little could its creators have realised that a phenomenal amount of clones it would spawn.

Every popular machine has more than its fair share of jumping and climbing games, the best-known probably being the Miner Willy games available for the Spectrum.

One thing that all these games have in common is that they owe their concept to Miner 2049'er - and we Atari owners are smug in the knowledge that we saw it first.

Now - after what is probably the longest-ever wait for a follow-up in computer games history - comes Bounty Bob Strikes Back.

Originally to be called "Scraper Caper", this game has arrived well over a year after full-colour double-page advertisements for it appeared in American computer magazines. Talk about starting the hype early!

All of this, of course, leads to the inevitable question - was it worth the wait? The answer must be... a resounding yes!

I made arrangements to borrow the cartridge from a (rich) friend (thanks, Nigel) who had brought it direct from the States at great expense (the pound was just about one for one against the dollar at the time).

The time limit on the loan was to be a maximum of two weeks as he couldn't bear to be parted from it for any longer.

The whole Bounty Bob package reeks of sharp American techno-flash, right from the box, which is at least five times bigger than it needs to be, the instructions, which are in the form of a giant full-colour poster, and, fortunately, the game itself.

I inserted the cartridge into the left-hand slot of my trusty Atari 800, switched on and - what? A grid with birds flying around carrying letters? Could this be the correct game I had here?

But, sure enough, it was. The birds actually fly all around the screen and drop the letters into the grid and spell out the game title, programming information and other relevant details.

The option key gives access to a user-definable customiser screen which includes the amount of lives for Bob, difficulty level, music volume - you name it, you can change it.

There is even a line called special code which the instructions say little about, only that it allows Big Five programmers access to the games code.

One surprising omission is the inability to enter the game from anything but level one, but this is sorted out after clearing certain levels of the game.

Secret messages are flashed on to the screen with the necessary information to enter the game at higher levels.

On pushing Start, the first screen scrolls smoothly from the bottom to the top of the TV screen in that familiar way that we Atarians know and love.

And, suddenly, there they all are - Bob, the mutants and the transporters that we've all seen before on Miner 2049'er.

Then came the first feeling - of disappointment. Was this just going to be a re-run of Miner?

Bob certainly looked exactly the same - that old familiar grin on his face and his battered hat perching jauntily on his head, shuffling along filling in rectangles fit to bust.

It took me quite some time getting through that first screen, but I'm glad I persevered with it - from the second screen on, the action gets far more fast and furious and every screen is absolutely alive with a whole wealth of new and reworked ideas.

I only managed to get to level five and I played the game a heck of a lot in the two weeks that I had it.

Not since Boulderdash (which I personally rate as the best computer game of all time) have I come across such a 100 per cent addictive game.

It is so alive with great ideas that you'll eagerly play it until two in the morning just to glimpse the next screen, so you can go to bed and have nightmares about how the heck you're ever going to get through it the next day.

Just a quick word about the hi-score screen. It's about the most inventive I've ever seen. Just take a look for yourself.

The only minus point I can think of about the game is that I can't find a way to cheat by jumping into any level.

Typing in the Big Five phone number to jump levels in Miner 2049'er was an open secret to most Atari-owners. I've yet to find the secret on Bounty Bob.

I'm sure it's something to do with that special code on the customiser screen.

It's certainly not the phone number this time around - I've tried. And besides, the phone number is used to warp you out of tricky situations where you would normally have to wait for the game's timer to count you out.

Incidentally, for those of you who must be wondering at this point - No, I don't work for Big Five Software, I don't know the programmers personally, and I sure haven't got shares in the company - I'm just a dedicated Atari user who loves classy games.

At the time of writing, Bounty Bob was only available on import from America, at the horrendous price of £49.95.

But the good news is that US Gold should be bringing it out soon for a lot less.

It'll be the bargain of the century, so beg, borrow, or sell your old Dragon (no, not your mum, stupid!) but rake up the money somehow and make sure you get a copy.