Amazed that people have got through the survival process? Check out the problems with the aid of your Falcon and see if you can do any better...

Just think what life was like before the wheel, when you could walk around nearly naked without being a social embarrassment and all you had to fear were huge dinosaurs that eat people for lunch and still have the inclination to crunch up the odd spear for afters - and who seem to be impermeable to fire. Such is the like that Evolution Dino Dudes for the Falcon attempts to recreate. Known as Humans on virtually every other format, this is a puzzle game that combines brilliant effects, intelligent gameplay, variety and humour to create absorbing and thought-provoking entertainment. Wow! What a claim.

First off, right, you're in charge of a team of Stone Age men complete with their lack of hygiene, abundance of hair and swarthy skin and who are also blessed with incredible strength. You have to keep a certain number of these dudes alive preferably by not exposing them to peckish beasties for too long or making them attempt feats they couldn't possibly survive. At the same time you have to develop their skills so that you can go on to the higher levels in which you use more and more of them.

So, say you're at the beginning of the game (always a good place to start) and your first task is to find a spear. You work out that team spirit and amazing strength means your chappies can climb onto each other's shoulders and rescue the spear. Next level you develop more teamwork and how you can leap between previously impassable crevices using the spear, and then you can throw it to help your mates... and so on. Some of the moves can be quite fiddly to master, especially if you're not used to playing with the joypad, but after you've used them a few times they almost become second nature.

Some of the puzzles are pretty tricky and until you're absolutely certain of what you're doing and what part each chappie's going to play, there's little chance of you managing to complete your task within the assigned time limit. This is especially true if you have it on the harder options where the time limit is less and there barely seems enough time to make the moves let alone think! If you do well you're rewarded by extra points.

There are also lots of red herrings posing as useful objects on some of the levels, so you tend to find yourself doing completely the wrong thing very often, by which time you've lost all chance of getting through. The Pause option comes in useful here, so you can stop and think about what you're supposed to be doing. Once you've got through to another level you're given a code so you can access that right at the beginning and you don't have to play through all the previous levels.

There are six different sets of scenery you get to play against which adds quite a lot of choice - summer, winter - caves, swamp, forest and desert and your tasks can range from meeting your friends to learning how to use the wheel, so although you're doing the same moves and ultimately continuing to strive for the goal of evolving, it doesn't get too tedious because it's so addictive. At the same time it can be pretty hard and therefore frustrating, so you might get sick and tired of doing the same thing time and again.

The effects in the game are quite brilliant - it looks gorgeous throughout and the attention to detail is incredible - look at the tendrils of twine hanging down in the swamp level for starters. The animations are a really good touch as well - there's the brilliant beasty, and the squeals and looks of pain and anguish on the dude's face if a less-sensitive team member runs over their toes using his wheel and the shouts of the lost friend are quite heart-rending. The tune that plays in the background does get rather repetitive but the little extra personalities make up for it.

You're probably thinking by now that this all sounds a bit familiar... rather Lemmings-like, in fact. Well, the play is the same sort of idea, except that in this you learn as you go along so you have to go through all the levels - all 80 of them - to progress through the game. In Lemmings 2, you could dot about so if you get fed up trying to solve one level you could move between eleven others while your subconscious did its bit to sort out the problems, which is good.

A big criticism of Lemmings is that you can't get hold of a single lemming very easily and make it do a particular task - that's not a problem at all with Dudes since the people are very substantial. Comparisons in this case are actually fairly irrelevant anyway, since Lemmings is an ST game, and Dudes is very definitely a Falcon game - the graphic and sonic effects couldn't be achieved with an ST. On top of this, Dudes runs from a hard drive, making it run very smoothly - an absolute joy to be with! Ooer.

Evolution Dino Dudes is an excellent game with fun for all the family especially if you use your Falcon for more serious pursuits the rest of the time. And, of course, it's the only puzzle game for the Falcon (unless you count the abysmal Breakout which came with your machine!) with the only criticism being that it can be a bit tedious trying to solve one single puzzle and not being able to do anything until you've done it.

The fact that Atari have finally decided to show some positive support for the machine as well surely has to be a good sign - inner confidence seems to be radiating from them these days. Yes, get Dudes, it's lovable, it's fun, it's intelligent. And it's a looker. But if anyone can tell me where the women are, I'd be much happier. As long as the answer isn't that they're doing the cooking inside the tent.

1. Loads of levels.
2. Very attractive.
3. Humorous.

1. Gets repetitive quickly.
2. Pretty tough.