Let's face facts. Most games spawned from cartoon franchises offer lowest-common-denominator thrills, shoehorning rich comic worlds into unsuitable genre games with shoddy coding. You should pity the innocent child who picks The Simpsons Skateboarding over Tony Hawk's 4.

Can Futurama succeed where others have failed? Initially, the signs are good. As a game type, the platformer provides a promising springboard for the licence and with an ex-script writer on board, the game kicks off with a fantastically ludicrous premise. In a fit of insanity Professor Farnsworth has sold Planet Express Deliveries to Mom, who rules the boardrooms like Rupert Murdoch in a pinafore. A bad thing? Well, turns out that Mom now owns just over 50% of Earth, making her the primary stakeholder, and, by proxy, Supreme Ruler. New New York is quickly overrun with hoverbot death-troopers as the extent of Mom's scheming becomes clear: she's building Earth into a warship to take over the universe. It's up to the Planet Express staff to save existence as we know it. In other words, Futurama business as usual.

The opening cut-scene is as laugh-packed as a real episode and the cel-shaded graphics add that important third dimension with style. Surprisingly the game gets stronger the more you play. The first scene sees you as Fry, scampering around the Planet Express offices in search of tools to repair the spaceship. It's a good way to learn the controls and get the hang of the third-person action, but it involves you searching every nook and cranny of the complex, and isn't the festival of thrills you'd expect. However, by the time you've stomped through New New York in a giant mechanical chicken, out-run a giant boulder as Bender and controlled Zoldberg riding a runaway, erm, blue beast, that initial disappointment is forgiven and forgotten.

The frequent bouts of fisticuffs are also enjoyable. You'll come up against a cornucopia of enemies - little warthogs strapped with dynamite, lumbering stone golems, and even the odd familiar face. Fry dispatches enemies with a humble hammer, but later builds up an arsenal of machine guns, revolvers, and laser pistols. Not bad for the kind of guy who eats his own earwax.

While it can't hope to convey the anarchy of the series, Futurama is an elegant platformer, that's peppered with in-jokes and fan-pleasing cameos. Yes, the characters' roster of whimsical witticisms do get a little irritating when repeated for the umpteenth time and there's no denying this is no Ratchet & Clank beater, but there's something inherently likable about Fry and chums that goes a long way when you're searching for bottles of Botweiser. Not a substitute for series three on DVD perhaps, but maybe you could just take a leaf out of Bender's book and steal them both.

Graphics 70%
Bright, cel-shaped characters are faithful to the show.

Sound 70%
Whimsical quips, plentiful explosions.

Gameplay 60%
Simplistic puzzle-solving, engaging combat.

Lifespan 60%
Like Leela's Cyclops eye, not enough depth of vision.

Overall 70%
A likeable if unspectacular platform romp, given extra momentum by great characters and sharp gags.