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Frogger-maniacs who bought a Dragon have so far had to make do with some poor substitutes, like Dragon Data's Rail Runner, but at least Microdeal have brought over the official Sega arcade version from America.

For the one or two PCN readers who maybe don't know, the idea is to manoeuvre your frog across a busy five-lane highway to the river bank, then across the river to one of the five caves representing home. Then you do it again, and again, for as long as you can make your four lives last.

The cassette sleeve includes a screenshot suggesting that this could indeed be very close to the arcade original in both graphics and colour. On loading it does prove to be the case; the only thing missing is the slot for your money.

Choose between the fast version with snakes or the slow version without. Finally you indicate whether it's a one or two player game. The top of the screen keeps a note of everything going on, including the high-score record, while at the bottom there's a timer to warn you when you're about to become an ex-frog.

The five streams of traffic move at various speeds and in alternating directions, and the river contains the usual mix of floating logs and turtles who may turn at any time, along with the occasionally lady frog who can be pounced on for extra points. The caves may contain tasty flies for even more bonus points, or alternatively snapping heads in which case you become the meal should you be foolish enough to hop in. Later stages of the game see alligators and snakes in the river, with snakes also patrolling the bank, and naturally everything's at a faster pace with more traffic on the road. When you do eventually lose a life a skull and crossbones is displayed.

The sound shows what the Dragon can do given a bit of encouragement, and control of the little creature is quick and accurate whether by keyboard or joystick. You can also freeze the frame should you feel the need to hop to the bathroom, or stop the game altogether if you want a fresh start.

I've always found Frogger rather a boring game, but for those who do like it this is a first class implementation and is as close to the original as Microdeal's The King is to Donkey Kong.