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Although it's a great life, being Commodore Format's Games Editor, it does have the occasional drawback. One is that I can't spend my enormous salary quickly enough, and the other is that I miss all the best stuff on TV.

Take Potsworth, for example. I've never seen it. I presume it's on during the week at about four o' clock, a time when I'm still hard at work. Of course, I could get my servants to video it in Nicam digital stereo wide-o-vision, but I keep forgetting.

Investigating further, I found out that Potsworth's actually a large cartoon dog who has a gang of mischievous friends. And in this game you get to play through the entire gang. Whoopee.

Right. Level one sees Rosie, a sort of cute girlie a bit like Lucy out of Charlie Brown. She's been thrown into the cave zone, where she's got to leap from platform to ledge (and back). Baddies whizz around, and our Rosie finds traps all over the shop. But if she can overcome them, she'll get to free the Stone Giant (by collecting five parts of a ghetto-blaster, for some reason).

In level two, Nick (or Super Duper Man, as he likes to be known) must fly up the Suspire State Building, collecting five objects. You'll find out what he needs these for later in the game.

Level three, and we finally get to meet Potsworth [Ah, at last - Ed]. Potsworth has been transported to the Candy Zone. This sweet-infested area appears to be every kiddy's dream (except that I don't think it is, actually). Anyway, there are all sorts of collectables, eatables and be-sickables around the place. The trick is to avoid candy walking-sticks, giant ice-lollies and chocolate mice. Once again, your character has to collect some vital things.

Carter, a dude with what used to be called a wicked haircut, is next on level four. He's an artist (as opposed to an USM), and must collect bits of a jigsaw to make a pretty picture. But that's not all. He can also draw things which then come into existence. So he can paint ledges, climb on them and hide from things.

Keiko, skateboard wizard and poser, has journeyed into the Carnival Zone. He's got to collect five mystical arrows. Luckily he's got a skateboard to trundle around on. This is especially useful for avoiding hot dogs, killer clowns and candy floss.

All this might sound strange and surreal, but if you've ever seen the show, apparently you'll understand the style. Once you start playing, what you find you've actually got is a series of fiendish platform games in true Rick Dangerous style. You've got to move stuff around to activate lifts, conveyor belts and other helpful machinery. The graphics and smoothness are up to RD standards, with flapping, crawling and rolling baddies all over the place.

Manoeuvring around the screens is pretty easy to master, with the characters doing exactly what you'd expect of them (jumping, crawling and firing), but the chasms and baddies are designed in such an evil way that it's not easy to overcome them until you've thought about it.

As you'd guess, the bits of whatever they're supposed to be picking up are scattered in the most difficult and out-of-the-way locations, so each level is a tough mini-game in its own right.

Ultimately, though, it doesn't have an enormous tie-in with the show. It just borrows the characters (who do actually look a bit like the cartoons) and bungs them in platform-land. The result might not please die-hard Potsworth fans, but will give platform-heads weeks of serious gameplay.

So, the sound and graphics certainly do their job, although they're not totally amazing. The occasional small graphics glitch doesn't really offend you either.

In conclusion, Potsworth is a big multi-level platformer with Hanna Barbera characters. Er, it's pretty good, so buy it if this is the sort of game you're after.

1. If you're expecting more than a platform game, think again...
2. The sound effects are mainly hums, burbs and buzzes.
3. Pretty tough stuff.

1. It's a mega-collection of platform games, which should delight people interested in this sort of thing.
2. There are plenty of places to explore and maps to draw - the levels are satisfyingly big.
3. Movement is slick and quick - platform games need both.
4. The characters are definitely recognisable as those on the TV.
5. Who says that platform games have had their day?