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If somebody had asked me for a good idea for a computer game, Popeye and his chums wouldn't have been at the top of my list. But Macmillan have this idea that Popeye is the most recognised cartoon around.

The Macmillan game represents the second attempt to produce a game based on the muscle-bound sailor. Parker Toys produced a plug-in cartridge two years ago based on the Popeye coin-op.

This one was really disappointing. In it Popeye had to catch the hearts that were floating down amongst the platform structure where the game took place. It failed because it seemed to involve Popeye in too much running away from Bluto.

Anyway, we all know that Popeye loves Olive Oyl, although why is anyone's guess. To prove his love for her, he must collect 25 hears which are randomly distributed around his home town. When he's dug them all out, he must deliver them to luscious Olive to get a big mushy smacker.

This is not so easy - love never is [Such wisdom! - Ed] since there are lots of meanies around town. The obvious one, Bluto, roams the High Street and for a thug he boasts a fair degree of intelligence. The others, which include a shark, a dragon and a flying witch, are much more predictable.

Some hearts are placed behind closed doors, for which a key must be found, whilst others are placed in the path of the meanies.

But wait, there's something missing. You guessed it: also placed round town are cans of spinach which give Popeye extra lives - no spinach and no more kisses for Popeye.

The best feature of this game is the graphics, they could have stepped right out of the cartoon. Although the animation is a little blocky, the characters are large and move in a very realistic 'Popeye' way. Also, the scupulous attention to detail impressed me - Popeye's wink is as good as ever. Ug, ug, ug.

As well as moving from screen to screen, the characters can move in front and behind each other. They can also move in and out of the scenery. This gives the game a nice feeling of depth.

But the game falls down on playability. Due to the size of the characters, Popeye is slow to react to the joystick, thus making the game very tough. But with a little perseverance, it all becomes very enjoyable. Nevertheless, another cartoon-based game fails to come up with anything beyond the standard 'pick up' aardvark, A shame, Popeye fans should enjoy this game, but the rest of you better have a gander at it first in your local computer store.