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Dynamic Duos used to consist of two characters who were, at the very least, members of the same species. The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Batman and Robin, Starsky and Hutch, Bodie and Doyle, Cagney and Lacey and sundry others testify to this fact. Times and fashions change, but I will still need convincing that they have changed so much that the latest offering from Firebird makes any sense. The whizz-kids at Probe have decided that a duck and a dwarf make a lively combination. I bet they have vodka with their lager and caviar with their coco-pops.

Anyway, we have a duck and a dwarf. This duck and swarf, besides being a trifle strange, are daring, brave, heroic and the subject of a great deal of gossip. They have decided to enter the Night House, a building full of hidden rooms and treasure chests waiting to be found by someone brave enough, and stupid enough, to look for them. Sounds like my cue.

The house consists of many corridors and secret rooms which have to be explored to find the treasure chests. There are ten pieces of a key hidden in the chests. The complete key opens the door to the Calculation room. When you have all of the pieces of the key and have managed to open the door to the Calculation room, the game is over.

Dynamic Duo is a one- or two-player game, so you can squabble over who is the duck and who is the dwarf. The duo can stick together, with the duck squatting on the dwarf's head - it is a very trusting dwarf! - or they can split. The duck can fly much faster than the dwarf can run, so somethings it is worthwhile separating them. This allows the duck to scout for the chests. The dwarf can follow and open any which the duck finds.

The screen is divided into three parts. The top section shows the playing screen when the two are one, so to speak. The middle section contains a map showing the area covered and any objects or items in that part of the map. This changes into the playing section for player two, however, when the duo split - hello, are you still there?

The bottom screen contains the players' scores and the number of key pieces collected so far. Among those out to obstruct and deter the Dynamic Duo are flying skulls, giant eyeballs and the Grim Reaper. Dear old Grim seems to have undergone a conversion to the Cisterciar order because he is dressed in a monk's outfit. He has a tendency to appear unexpectedly and kill your characters. Needless to say, this is hardly a Christian act.

The gameplay is reasonable, although it must be said that it can be puzzling trying to play the one-player game when the duo split. The graphics feature plenty of cheerful, bright colours and the characters look cute. The sound is not. Still, Dynamic Duo is probably a godsend for all duck lovers, because there are not many duck games about.