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Cutesy games seem to be making a bit of a comeback after their recent lull, what with Elf and now Rodland. Rodland concerns the fate of a certain pair of peeps who are called Tam and Rit - or most exactly, their mother. She's been fairynapped by the once-nice-but-now-nasty friends of Tam and Rit and securely imprisoned in a tower. So...

Playing Tam, or Rit, or both (with a friend), your job is to traverse 40 screens full of nasties and bash them on the head, so you can get to the next screen and, eventually, to Mom. You've been given the magic rod of Sheesanomo, with which you can kill the nasties, and also rainbow boots. Each screen is made up of platforms and ladders, but the boots give you the ability to create one temporary ladder going either up or down from the platform you're on, creating a handy escape route from the nasties.

All this action is depicted with offensively cute graphics. Tam and Rit look like a cross between My Little Pony and Barbie - the monsters are far too bouncy to be horrible. Actually, the sprites are clear, bright and well-drawn, though not especially well-animated, as are the backgrounds. Unfortunately, there's no way to turn off the wibbly tune except to turn the volume down.

Rodland has a ridiculous plot, is obiously cute and plays like a dream. There are two faults that might put you off, though - it's perhaps a little bit tougher than it should be (the first screen is okay but by the time you reach eight or nine you're really struggling) and, after a while, you do tend to lose interest slightly because of a lack of variation in the gameplay. In other words, it's nice in short doses, but don't expect anything too engrossing.

1. Cuteness factor is equal to, or exceeds, Rainbow Islands.
2. Two player option is similar to Flip-It And Magnose.