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Bouncy of bottom and rubber of skin, Terry the sphere is in trouble again. That dastardly, devious Baron Of Bonsai has filched his magic crystals and stashed them on a series of magic clouds. Does Tel flinch? Not likely. He nips up to the offending kingdoms in his lean, green skycopter and gets ready to rubber and roll.

Devised by Dene Carter, author of the classic C64 games Druid and Enlightenment, and more recently Dragon's Breath on 16-bit, Terry's crystal-collecting caper is divided into a series of progressive multi-directional scrolling levels. There are four worlds to choose from initially, with each completed kingdom allowing access to several more. So - will Terry leave with a bag-full of cash or will all that bouncing and banging just end with a twang?

Marauding eight-balls and Bad Insect Monsters are the scourge of Cloud Kingdoms. A furtive brush past is just about survivable, but a full blown collision is enough to send Terry's energy counter right down to zilch. Bouncing over the beasties is best.

Those bits of yummy fruit aren't just finger-licking good, they also contain plenty of healthy protein points. Pick 'em when ripe or they just disappear.

A foaming tankard of 'XX' may tempt Terry to tipple but he only ends up seeing double the diamonds and wandering into parts of the screen he never meant to reach. Getting skinless is not good for you.

Cloud surfaces exert their own particular influence over the action in hand. In this case, it's magnets reducing Terry's bouncability, but it could be anything from slippery ice blocks and collapsible floors to pinball bumpers and directional thruster tiles.

Baron Bonsai, crafty crystal kidnapper, is also a pretty good sport. Some of those jewels may look impossible to reach, but wherever necessary he's left a few helpful devices behind. They include such goodies as invincibility pods, extra time, keys and (as in this case) a couple of angel wings. One or two Manukas of unaided flight make child's play of otherwise unsurmountable walls.

When in doubt, paint your way out. Landing on a pot of emulsion is really just an excuse to paint a magic bridge and very handy for getting to those crystals the dastardly baron has placed just out of reach. Watch out though - running out of colour without realising it is a first class ticket into oblivion.

Bug-eyed bouncy balls, evil barons, lethal ladybirds... Cloud Kingdoms has cuteness factor coming out of its ears. Terry is big in the expressive eyes department, his supporting cast features appropriately cuddly animation and the recognisable theme tunes associated with special objects fit in snug as a bug in a rug.

What's most noticeable about the gameplay is how well it's been designed. The bumpers, icy surfaces, magnets, hidden rooms and monsters ensure variety - every level really is different - and the relatively high difficulty level guarantees plenty of substance.

What's significant isn't so much the originality of the features - bits of pinball, Incredible Shrinking Sphere, even Marble Madness all get a mention - but the ingenious way that the elements fit together.

On the other hand, it is occasionally a tad too easy to get stuck in the kind of dead end situation that forces you to restart a level, and 32 gaseous kingdoms aren't quite enough for the asking price.

That aside, Terry's rubbery romp may bounce into the big time yet.

ST owners with a fetish for gaseous guttapercha are also in for a treat. This version of Terry's elastic enterprise looks and feels exactly like the Amiga version shown - right down to the digitised boing.

On the visual front, EGA and VGA are supported. When it comes to sound however, there isn't quite as much. Still, this in no way serves to detriment the proceedings.