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"It has to be the daftest licence of all time! Who in their right mind would want to play a game based on a burger?" Clur cried when the post-room served up McDonaldland. Being in a definitively wrong mind, Trenton ambled forward with a joystick in his hand and a hungry look in his eye...

Any game that constantly reminds you that you haven't eaten recently, had better be pretty gripping. Because otherwise, if it gets even the slightest bit dull, the in-game ads are going to do their dirty work and have you nipping downtown for a burger. McDonaldland 'meats' his problem head on, serving up a gaming meal that's got a little bit of everything. But have Virgin got the recipe right, or did they insist on putting in that gherkin? The only way of finding out for sure is to take a look at the ingredients.

Cuteness is McDonaldland's bun; it holds everything else together. With distinct Mario overtones - solid, single-colour backgrounds and heroes from high gravity planets - you know that what you're about to receive is going to taste really sweet.

This overpowering cuteness has the advantage of creating a world where the rest of events seem strangely sane. To be palatable, though, the characters have to be likable and the absurdity of it all enjoyable. Unfortunately, the game's heroes, Mic and Mac, and the McDonaldland mythos, have a sterile production-fine feel. It has all the 'flavour' of a processed white bun and a sesame-seed like ability to get behind your teeth and be really annoying.

The trimmings, which are supposed to add that little extra flavour, are a bit hit and miss. The plot is as limp as a day-old lettuce leaf; but the six-level, six-world structure adds a real relishy tang to the proceedings. The music is like the onions that you get in burgers - you subliminally notice that it's there but you wouldn't really miss it if it wasn't.

The game's gherkin, the bit that some people detest and others happily tolerate, is the multi-load; McDonaldland is a biggie. And, despite the profusion of McDonald's arches, the game can't be considered fast food. Loading in each individual map and level takes absolutely ages!

At the heart of any burger though, be it a Big Mac, a Whopper or a Greasy Joe's, is the meat, which in this case is the gameplay. If that tastes good then you don't mind manoeuvring around the mustardy bits. If you nibble at the edges of McDonaldland it tastes bland, but if you take a good bite and get through to World Two, then you realise that it's made of 100 per cent ground gameplay beef.

McDonaldland is split into six different worlds, each of which is composed of six different levels. Each level takes a while to beat, but when it's over and you return to the 'World Map', you know you're in for something a little different at the next location. The staple diet is platform leapy-jumpy stuff, but there are hordes of little gameplay variations to stop the meal becoming samey.

In each World you're after six 'M' cards that reveal the face of that particular World's 'host'. The first World is easy, with M's over the shop. Even the world's least talented clown, Ronald [Watch it! - CF's lawyer], erm, Reagan could finish the six levels with maximum energy and a bag full of extra lives. World Two offers a different menu altogether. Here the tricks that you've been shown in Worid One, like the super-springy blocks and the upside-down sections, suddenly change from extras into essentials.

The 'M' cards start appearing in annoyingly awkward-to-reach places. You can see them, but you have to explore the entire level if you're to find the right trick to reach them. Some levels test your leaping skills (Mic can jump to two different heights, he can move in flight and the distances he has to cross are huge) as you negotiate platforms perched above perilous pits. Other levels test your lateral thinking, with the most desirable bonuses hanging in apparently 'unreachable' positions. Certain cloud levels hide most of Mic - and the deadly drops - from view, while the occasional maze tests your bonus-gathering bottle to the limit.

Eaten in one sitting, the McDonaldland gaming burger is satisfying, but there is the occasional odd after-taste. The majority of the dressing could easily be dispensed with, but once you give the game a chance and play it into World Two then the underlying flavour comes through. Occasionally the pillar-box viewpoint is annoying, especially when you can't see a ledge that you've got to land on because it's somewhere out of view; you'll probably end up losing a few lives because of this on your first few ventures into the game. But the raw meat of the puzzles themselves should be enough to satiate the hunger of any C64 for a good few hours.

1. A massive range of game-style dips.
2. Extra large helping of worlds and maps.
3. The gameplay gets thicker and tastier world by world.

1. The multi-load service is a little slow.
2. The cuteness is slightly over-cooked.
3. World One burger is far too bland.