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Those years between 1989 through to 1991 are regarded as something of a golden era for the Commodore 64, even though it included the launch of the ill-fated C64 Games System in December of 1990. Things were still buoyant back then, with releases being plentiful and many independent computer stores stocking the latest and best (and worst) games. Independent computer stores, now there's something that I miss!

Some of the very best games appeared then; Manfred Trenz's Turrican, Geoff Crammond's Stunt Car Racer and - of course - Creatures by Apex Computer Productions, which is now being re-released by Psytronik Software for collectors hungry to relive the excitement of loading it from cassette or disk on their old C64s, and enjoy this memorable classic once more.

The story begins in a remote part of our galaxy, wherein lies a seemingly insignificant planet called Blot. The inhabitants were forced from their home in search of a planet with a better name, as being called a Blotian didn't seem cool enough. They renamed themselves Fuzzy Wuzzies while the search continued, but as fate would have it they crash-landed on Earth. Finding themselves in the Pacific Ocean, they soon discover an unknown island, which they named 'The Hippest Place in The Known Universe'.

Unfortunately, bad tempered Demons also resided there on the far side of the island, and enraged by the cheerful and good humoured Fuzzies they hatched an evil plan. Offering the new inhabitants a huge party, the Demons managed to capture all but one of their unwelcome visitors, who were then carted them off to the Demon's torture chambers. Luckily, Clyde Radcliffe was not caught and set out to rescue his species from extinction.

The game comes largely in the form of a cute, cartoon-styled 2D platformer. Our hero has really bad breath, a side effect of the mother of all hangovers, which makes his 'spit' venomous to many of the roaming nasties. Holding fire for a time will unleash the worst of this, in the form of fire being thrown from Clyde's mouth. The devious designs of each level means that earlier ones dont become too boring, as there are still hazards that may catch you out even if you've already completed that stage flawlessly in the past. The graphics are crisp and well-defined, and the music and sound effects are superb.

Kudos must go to the Rolf Harris-inspired 'Wobble Board' effect in the in-game music in the first. Intermittently, you will find yourself in the dreaded torture chambers, in which you have to rescue one of your fellow beings.

This is something of a distraction as you discover each new one, in that the death scenes of the poor Fuzzies are packed with humour, so I often find that I lose a life just watching the poor thing put to his or her death. I wonder what that says about my personality?

Creatures is still one of the finest, and funniest, games you'll find on the C64, with intelligently designed levels, to stop earlier ones being tiresome. It also has crisp, clear graphics with cheerful background music and neat sound effects. Well worth the purchase.

Price: £12.99 (Deluxe edition) £8.99 (Budget edition)
Developer: Apex Computer Productions
Publisher: Psytronik - www.psytronik.com
Platform: Commodore 64/128

A challenging, cute and humorous classic that can be enjoyed all over again