If your head's not spinning after this lot then it never will. The only experience that playing five Dizzy games in a row compares to is three weeks on the waltzers at your local fair - I tried it. And unless you've got the stomach of a concrete elephant, I whole-heartedly suggest you take it easy. But that doesn't mean the games are no good - they are. So let's get stuck in and see what's what.

Previous Next

Spellbound Dizzy comes billed as the biggest and best Dizzy

A bish, a bash and quite possibly a bosh later, Dizzy's chums are spirited to a deadly underworld, leaving nothing but a few puffs of smoke and another excuse for a rather stunned Dizzy to be a hero. Dizzy recites the spell again to follow his friends, in the rather big-headed bellef that only he will be able to free them. So in you come, joystick at the ready, at the start of another epic adventure.

Collect objects, 'use' them at strategic points to solve the puzzles and have a good exploration session. There are over 100 locations to discover, including wind-tunnels and underwater levels. There's loads to this game, and collecting all the object you'll need without coming a cropper proves very, very challenging.

Previous Next

So on to Dizzy: Prince Of The Yolk Folk. This is another brand new game but in the traditional Dizzy mould. This time our egg-shaped pal is (in an even more bizarre plot twist than normal, that I won't even attempt to explain here) trapped in a dungeon.

Through the strategic use of a pile of leaves, a box of matches and a jug of water, he must somehow get around the problem of a locked door. He cunningly fashions an environmentally sound, bio-degradable bazooka in a brilliant taster of what's to come. (That bit about the bazooka was a lie, by the way, but we don't want to spoil it for you.)

The graphics animation is lovely and smooth and the game slickly waltzes along with humour class. Later on you discover other weird and wacky characters as your bid to rescue your beloved Daisy unfolds. As I said, the plot is pretty bizarre, but suffice to say it involves cherries (lots of 'em), mystic spinning wheels, Trolls, the metabolic rate of Grand Dizzy and Poge the thieving dog. It's fun.

Previous Next

Dizzy Down The Rapids is also a bit of a hoot, except this time you have to guide Dizzy down a river avoiding crocodiles, birds, logs and all manner of flotsam. You can nudge Dizzy in eight directions and fire at the devilish fiends who get in his way.

The action is viewed from above as the river scrolls from top to bottom. Lovely. It's similar to, but better than, Toobin, and the action soon hots up. In fact, you'd be amazed how complicated an afternoon bobbing along a river can get. If the level of traffic congestion on the English Channel is anything like this particular river then it's no wonder they're building the Channel Tunnel! Maybe there's not enough to enthral you for months but as an occasional test of your nautical navigation abilities, it's well worth a go.

Previous Next

Panic Dizzy on the other hand is really a bit of a bummer, although it's fun to start off with. Forget Dizzy, he's here in name alone - this is a rip-off of Tetris in which you have to guide shapes falling down a funnel into particular holes. It gets very, very difficult very quickly. Ultimately, it lets down the other games. Boo!

Previous Next

Kwik Snax, another oldie, places our hero in a series of five Pacman-style mazes. Dodge the baddies, collect bonuses along the way and guide your chums to safety. It could do with being just a little faster but it's still an entertaining challenge, like Dizzy's Excellent Adventures in general. And that's official.

1. One average game in the pack.

1. Spellbound Dizzy is still the biggest and best of its kind.
2. Prince Of The Yolk Folk is brand spanking new. Full of humour and colour.
3. Down The Rapids is what Toobin should have been. Good arcade fun.
4. Kwik Snax might be old, but it held its position in the charts for ages... and with good reason.
5. Okay, so Panic Dizzy is a Tetris rip-off and not a brilliant one at that. But it's still engaging enough.
6. A glorious collection for the thousands of Dizzy fans.
7. And a lot for your money.