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Uncouth, uncivilised and unbelievably thick! That just about sums up Chuck Rock, comic caveman hero of Genias' new platform epic. Can this superslob turn superhero to overcome dangerous dinosaurs, devious detours and deadly droppings on his own? Uh, no, you'll have to help out in a big way.

Chuck proudly sports a beer gut, stubble and very little nous. Quite how he won the hand of his beautiful wife Ophelia is one of the great mysteries of history, but that's not important right now because the evil Gary Gritter has kidnapped her. A heartbroken - or at least slightly miffed - Chuck sets out to get her back. Unfortunately, he's a bit too dim to do this on his own and needs major league help.

You have to guide this prehistoric pleb through fifteen zones of dino mayhem in order to reach a show-down with the evil Gazza. There are thunder-lizards to the right of him, thunder-lizards to the left of him and a fair smattering of the big scaly fiends straight ahead, too. Most will kill Chuck for a quick snack if they get their claws on him, so he has to leap, dodge and bully his way past.

All Chuck can do to protect himself is belly butt, kick and bung boulders! These weapons sound well wimpy, but are actually dead effective. With his ample waistline he can bop even the fiercest dino down with one quick wobble of his jelly belly. Surprisingly agile, he can leap into the air and toe poke dinosaurs to death - although the whiff of his size nines does more damage than the kick! Finally, and most importantly, he can hurl huge (and not quite so huge) rocks about.

These rocks are the key to the game. First off, they form a major part of Chuck's offensive armoury. Any rock found lying around can be picked up, hoisted overhead and thrown to top threatening thunder-lizards. They can be used as shields to stop dangerous rock falls concussing Chuck, and are vital platform builders. If a ledge is too high, Chuck can use a boulder as a primitive step-ladder. And as the game progresses, reaching new heights and leaping un-leapable gaps become ever more important.

Chuck always has to watch his weight and health. Scattered around the platform world are various bits of nosh and health giving hearts. Although on a mission of mercy, CR racks up most points for face filling and grabbing hams, hogs' heads and chicken legs as he fights for his life. But while this stops his tum from rumbling, the hearts replace the valuable life energy that's lost every time a dinosaur hits him.

Keeping Chuckie fit is essential, if he is to survive the rigours of bramble bushes, mad monsters and the unexpected! When guiding Mr Rock, you always have to expect the unexpected. He can happen upon mud monsters, sinking swamps and all manner of prehistoric peril whenever a new zone is entered, all the while being hassled by an increasingly vicious menagerie of monsters. One wrong move sends the boy screaming skyward with his eyes bulging in pain; too many leave him lying dead, and you one life down. And with only four lives for the entire game, one death is a death too many.

Chuck Rock plays well. All three zones of world one, while still being a reasonable test of your stick skill, are training for levels yet to come. You have to learn how to use crocodile catapults and pterodactyl lifts, how to defend and attack, and the peculiar characteristics of the creatures. Learning the map is essential, if you want to get the biggest possible score and survive. This requires many leaps into the unknown, exploration and some downright foolhardiness. But Chuck is so controllable that you don't mind taking risks, as skill always offers at least a glimmer of hope.

The immensity of the task, remembering fifteen huge maps and reacting exactly right every single step of the way is offset by Chuck's amazing technicolour laugh-coat. The monsters look as stupid as Chuck and are twice as daft. Each has its own idiosyncratic method of attack and silly way of dying. This spacky look helps to disguise the progressively tougher gameplay.

Although not brilliant, the graphics look the part, inventing a comic time when both man and dinosaurs roamed the planet. The lack of reality is total: since when was a triceratops two feet tall? But the whole game has a mad logic, giving an overall look and gameplay continuity. And that's what counts.

Chuck Rock is real good. The precision of the leaps and bounds, demanded by console-style games, is combined with the up-front speed of hard-core computer romps, all wrapped up in ribald silliness. Chuck Rock's one failing may be that it all over too quickly, but that's only because it insists that you play again, and again. It puts the hooks in hard, simply because everything seems achievable. If only you were a little luckier, a little quicker...

1. Getting further doesn't necessarily guarantee a hi-score!

1. A wackily wild, cartoon caveman world!
2. Clean, crisp control of Chuck promotes skilful play!
3. Fifteen huge maps to explore.
4. Massive playability means you will be back time and time again.
5. Vast range of puzzles and problems to beat.
6. Has a console-feel at an arcade pace.
7. Plain silly, nay, totally daft, monsters to beat.
8. There is a neat balance between points, health power and progress.
9. Classic platform action.