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Zany! Addictive! Whacky! Cruel! Wild! Irresistible! Tear-jerking! Fun! This is how Thalamus describes its latest offering. Not exactly modest, is it? Our reviewer went looking for chainsaw-wielding slime, vats of acid and over-sized machine guns and found that the fuzzy wuzzy heroes of the game are indeed in need of your immediate assistance. So what are you waiting for?

If you look up into the sky tonight and direct your gaze to the far right corner of the Milky Way, you might just see a faint star. Orbiting this star is a tiny, insignificant planet named Blot. It's a pretty place, but the inhabitants never liked being referred to as 'Blotians' - so they built a crude colony ship, renamed themselves "Fuzzy Wuzzies", and headed for deep space.

Would you believe it - only yesterday, they crash-landed on Earth. Fortunately for them they splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, next to an undiscovered island: they swam ashore, built a village, and called it The Hippest Place in the Know Universe. Little did they know that on the other side of the island lived a group of bad-tempered Demons. Enraged by Fuzzy Wuzzies making happy sounds, they hatched a plot: having invited the Fuzzies to a party, the baddies threw a net over them and carried them off to the torture chambers.

All except one. His name is Clyde Radcliff, and he's resolved to Exterminate All The Unfriendly, Repulsive, Earth-ridden Slime (work it out). Rescuing his chums from the dastardly Demons is no easy task.

Clyde's adventure is split up into stages, each one divided into two right-to-left scrolling levels. The journey takes him over hills and valleys, through underground passages and icy subterranean pools, along roaring rivers and down extremely dangerous waterfalls.

As if the landscape wasn't terrifying enough, Clyde also has to combat a vast range of demonic minions - birds that drop bombs from balloons, spitting stone heads, giant maggots, mutant cats and just about every other horror you could imagine. The worst is saved until last: every level ends with a ferocious monster which Clyde needs all his leaping and shooting skills to defeat.

There is some consolation, though: our furry friend occasionally comes across flashing Magic Potion Creatures (MPCs): if he collects enough, he can use them at the end-of-level shop. This is run by a friendly witch with a Fuzzy fetish: she exchanges the MPCs for potions which allow our chum to choose a more flexible range of weapons. So you can get through the game without her help but it would be unwise to try.

If he completes an entire stage, Clyde is whisked off to a Torture Chamber. This is a single screen consisting of puzzles which he must solve within a strict time limit or forfeit a life: he can buy clues from the witch in the shop, but they're very expensive. If he frees his tiny friend, Clyde is rewarded with more magic potions.

What this all adds up to is a very cute, very silly and very enjoyable platform and puzzle game. Al the basic elements of a great game are there: the collision detection is spot-on, the enemies get gradually more intelligent and the whole design makes for a compelling challenge rather than umpteen screens of endless frustration.

As you can see from the screenshots, the graphics are superb: the backgrounds in particular are varied, colourful and imaginative; but it's the range of creatures and what happens to them which make the game so much fun. Each has its own character, and they vary from level to level so that you never quite know what they'll do next.

Added to this are some weird tunes, excellent sound effects and loads of mini-puzzles -all combining to make one hell of a good game. You'd be daft to miss it.

There are times when every furry fun-ball needs assistance: the items below are just a selection of the weapons and gizmos which any self-respecting fuzzy carries around with him.

1. Clyde This is Clyde: his body is his tool. He can adapt to most environments simply by walking and jumping - but occasionally (as a fast, desperate measure), he can kill opponents by leaping at them. However, use this option with care - it forfeits half a life.

2. Fireballs Cuddly Clyde's standard-issue weapon is the fireball. By collecting magic potions he can configure this to fly in eight different ways: a flame thrower, one straight and two drooping forward shots, a curly whirler, wiggly line, an upward shot, and a scatter-ball, which explodes a short time after release.

3. Bad Breath Halitosis was an embarrassment to the Fuzzy Wuzzies on their home planet, making parties a rare occasion. In Earth's atmosphere great advantage: a deep inhalation followed by a quick exhalation flames even the toughest enemies.

4. Lily-Boat Clyde isn't a great swimmer, so on rivers he seeks out the nearest lily. Whipping out his portable outboard motor, he can sail back and forth along the deepest rivers - though he can't travel back up waterfalls with it.

5. Diving Gear No Fuzzy leaves home without his diving helmet: it is invaluable in situations where there's no other option but to swim for it. Unfortunately, it has a limited air supply, so get a move on!

1. Passwords would have saved time!

1. Huge levels to negotiate - and you don't get sent back to the start when you die.
2. Brilliant torture screens.
3. Colourful and beautifully drawn backdrops and a whole host of cute and silly creatures to collect or kill.
4. Bags of different weapons.
5. Loads of nice touches, such as the diving gear.
6. A choice of music and/or sound effects.
7. Spot-on collision detection.
8. The end-of-level baddies provide plenty of challenge.
9. Nicely graded difficulty: it starts off easy but gets very tough later on.