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Hagar the Horrible, the 'loveable' comic strip Viking best known for his daily appearances on the back page of The Sun newspaper, is obviously a bit of an international superstar - why else would this game be published by the German Kingsoft? (Indeed, why else would my review copy come in the German language - something I'm assured will be corrected before release! - making reviewing this thing such an interesting challenge?). Still, it makes little difference - language forms no real barrier when what you're playing's basically a platform arcade adventure. All I really missed out on was the witty interchange between our hero and his grouchy frau Helga, but I'm sure it was all suitably hilarious stuff.

Anyway, to the game. During the intro sequence we find the gormless-looking Hagar as hen-pecked as ever - unless he successfully retrieves a selection if items Helga wants he'll be sent to the Vikings' version of Coventry without any dinner. Thus you, as Hagar, are launched into a series of platform quests for suitable pressies, a mission which brings you into conflict with witches, crows, foreign barbarians, mermaids and other Viking 'types'. There are various countries to visit - each with its own distinctive graphics - though you have to do them in the correct order.

And so onto the platform game proper. The graphics are nice and colourful, and Hagar does look like Hagar, but this really is second, or even third, division stuff. It's all reasonably varied, there are plenty of enemies to overcome, lots of beet and food to scoff and so on, but in both game design and technical ability we're seeing better cartoon licence stuff from the likes of Hi-Tec every month. Not a terrible game exactly, but one which the existence of a budget market renders more or less pointless.

Enjoyable enough platform fun, but we've seen a lot better at a lot cheaper price.