Ah, Roland - the man of many faces and game genres on the Amstrad. MAny of which had his name shoehorned into the title as a cash grab and bore no continuity in the gaming 'series'. Luckily for us, AMTIXCPC's very own Zoe has created a game in the same vein as the 'Space' and 'Time' platformers that were popular.

In this adventure, Roland has to locate all the missing presents that have been stolen by the nasty elves. Fans of the previous platformers will already be familiar with its Jet Set Willy/Son Of Blagger influence, and it is this charm that made those earlier Roland outings fun to play.

It's a simple case of exploring the area, leaping over platforms and avoiding the elves and other baddies - all of whom move on a fixed path. Ladders are also present to assist Roland in getting to those hard-to-reach places. Can he save the day as he has done in countless adventures before?

It's really tricky to honestly critique a game coded live to an audience. I broadcast live weekly and couldn't imagine putting my brain into coding whilst presenting. It does suffer without the luxury of lengthy design and presentation refinement.

As a feat in itself, Gamehammer has produced something quite playable, fun to pick up and interestingly addictive. Yes, it's basic, buggy in places and lacking in depth or audio, but the heart of a game has been produced here, and it's still more enjoyable than many of the official home-coded efforts from yore. Also, the Amstrad is short on festive-themed titles so any addition to this lineup is a welcome one.

Roland's latest adventure was coded in real-time during a live stream. This is really impressive, to say the least, and I can't even begin to understand the knowledge required without reference material to do this under such conditions.

The resulting game is raw, lacking the polish of a project that is crafted over many months of graft. The sound is sparse, but understandably so - no musician was present. The engine is very functional, but it could do with a little tightening up.

It's still fun to play, but it needs to be returned to and honed some more post mortem. There's a great Roland game here in the waiting.

Presentation 65%
It's ready to fire up and play with no fanfare.

Graphics 69%
It looks like the part of the Roland series or at least the platforming titles.

Sound 30%
This drags the game down the most. Sadly, it's pretty much non-existent.

Addictive Qualities 60%
Avid fans of Amstrad's titular mascot will find appeal here.

Lastability 50%
It's not going to last you weeks and weeks but it's worth a playthrough.

Overall 55%