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To call Thing On A Spring a platforms game would be an insult. It is sort of a platforms game but it is to Manic Miner what West Side Story is to Romeo and Juliet.

Thing On A Spring has you taking on the role of Thing. Your task is to save an unsuspecting world from the evil goblin [Wasn't that an old Dr Who plot? - Ed]. The aforementioned goblin is working from his underground factory deep in the bowels of the Earth. Thing has got into the factory but doesn't know his way around, you are bound to get lost and end up stuck within the game.

To work out how to conquer the evil goblin you need to collect all nine pieces of a jigsaw which has been cut up and distributed throughout the building. The standard system of three lives and a bonus every 10,000 seems to be about as trendy as flares at the moment, so being a very fashion conscious Thing On A Spring your life is measured in oil. To stay alive you need to keep your spring oiled (I once knew an artist who worked in oils).

The whole game is accompanied by a Benny Hill-like tune, one of the few pieces of music on the Arnold which actually adds to the game rather than being an annoyance.

As you enter each new room the soft platforms re-appear but any object you have collected will stay in your possession. There is a good variety of sprites, some Spectrums, little cars, ducks and trains - all very cute but none quite as user-cuddly as Thing himself.

The animation is brilliant - who could fail to love Thing as he bounces around the screen, somersaulting over blocks and sliding down ramps?

I'll bet 464 owners reading this get sick of us moaning about mickey mouse loaders that make it difficult to load some games. But if you, like me, have either a 664 or a 6128 then you'll probably want to know which games to avoid to save yourself hours of hassle trying to load them.

Unfortunately Gremlin haven't exactly enamoured themselves to me by making Thing On A Spring one of these.

Fortunately I have access to several 4648 and have been able to assess the game which is actually quite a good idea. It could almost be described as a platform and ladders game though most of the scenery is about twice normal size.

What makes it interesting is the character you control. Instead of the usual walk left, walk right and jump, he turns somersaults in either direction or can be coiled up and released to jump vertically. This makes control a bit like Nodes Of Yesod on the Spectrum (well, I had to mention Sinclair somewhere).

Graphically, the game is very colourful but perhaps a bit chunkier than it need have been even though it's in Mode 0. A reasonable buy for 464 owners.

What is this obsession with bouncing that programmers have this month? With Bounder and now Thing on a Spring, everybody's bouncing! Oh well, if it's trendy. Boing, Thing On A Spring is really good, boing. Lots of cleverly designed screens, boing, make this a classic arcade game, hoing.

The somersaulting Thing is brilliantly programmed, boing, and seems to make the most difficult obstacles simple, boing, once the problem has been worked out. Boing, the game isn't particularly polished, boing, with the screen scrolling showing a flicker at the side, king.

The colours are randomly generated at some points and not used particularly well, boing. Having said that, boing, there appear to be many hours of pleasure in the game, although I don't know how many screens there are to explore, Wing. Huff, puff, pant, that's enough bouncing. Don't be misled by first impressions, this is a game that grows on you.

Being a spring you need to be well oiled, come to think of it working on Amstrad User you need to be well oiled, and the temptation to pick up every oil can - regardless of need - was often my downfall. I am amazed that none of the other reviewers have commented on how frustrating it is if you get stuck and have to press Escape to get out.

At first I found Thing On A Spring too frustrating to be fun, but once I mastered bouncing I changed my mind. This is the best game I've seen for a very, very long time.

I would class Thing On A Spring as my all-time number two (top spot still goes to Boulderdash).

It is a shame that Way Of The Tiger has got all the hype from Gremlin Graphics and Thing On A Spring has been overlooked - it's a much more playable game. Maybe I lack the evil streak needed for the violent games - it's a cute Kermit-like face and lots of puzzles that I like.