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The latest games from English Software, Kissin' Kousins, has an interesting innovation - speech. But don't get too excited - there's precious little of it.

Kissin' Kousins is an arcade game in the mould of Hunchback, Popeye and others of that ilk. You must guide the tiny hero past a series of hazards in order to save the heroine.

Immediately the game has loaded, you'll hear a clear and cheerful voice declaring "English Software presents Kissin' Kousins!"

Very impressive. Only trouble is, that's the last time you'll hear that particular snatch unless you reload the game. The only other speech I encountered was on the title scree. Here, a damsel in distress was shouting "Save me!"

This wasn't so impressive. The voice sounded more like a trainee female impersonator with a sore throat.

Still, this is a setp in the right direction and deserves full marks for effort. So what about the game itself? Well, I'm afraid it's not one of English Software's best.

The backdrop to the game is a static street with buildings, stores and hoardings, most of the action taking place on a narrow strip of the screen.

The obstacles on screen one include bushes, hydrants and dustbins with pop-up lids. These are placed at ever-decreasing intervals so the timing of your jumps is critical.

Just to add to the difficulty, a plane flies overhead dropping large red bombs, and each screen must be completed within a tight time-limit.

If you hit an obstacle, get blasted by a bomb, or just run out of time, you lose one of your five lives and must start at the beginning of that screen.

When all lives are lost, the scene scrolls to reveal a large harding showing "Game Over".

Once you've safely reached the right-hand side, the picture scrolls smoothly to the left to reveal the next section.

Screen two has wriggling caterpillars as the major obstacle. Later sections include bouncing kangaroos, bats and frogs.

The frustrating thing about the game is that there is no option to start again from the last screen completed. You always recommence right back at the very beginning.

Although it's a fair game, Kissin' Kousins lacks variety and excitement. Not one I'd go out of my way to buy, but worth a play.