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Clever Johnnies, those chaps at Titus Software. Well, fancy giving a game character the same name as your company. What a marketing coup. Next we're probably going to see games starring the CodeMaster, Mike Roprose and Audie O'Genic. But let's hope not.

First things first - Titus The Fox comes from the country that brought us croissants, pince nez and Steve McQueen Westphaser. Yes, it's a Frenchie. This explains the plot - Titus' fiancee, Foxy (oh dear) has disappeared in the Sahara while on a photoshoot for Fox And Locks magazine. It transpires that she's now languishing in a harem belonging to Shah Hassan. Titus is, therefore, on a quest to rescue her from all this nonsense. Cue one large platform game.

When the game starts, you appear to be on a street in an indeterminate European town. No sign of Arabs, harems or Foxy. Titus must jump, run and climb his way past all the baddies who assail him. He's got a fair turn of speed and is pretty agile, so it's not too much of a problem. Especially since he's got the handy ability to pick up a large variety of objects and throw them hard at people.

The collectables are the key to this game. You simply hold them in a threatening manner over your head - well, Titus' head. You can then hurl them in any direction. If they hit any baddies, the baddie dies instantly. This is very useful, but you do generally destroy the object you've thrown - bad news if it's something you need in order to continue further into the game!

There are the by-now-usual secret rooms, traps and puzzley bits for you to - er, puzzle over. All these are de rigeur for platform games today - especially French ones. There isn't a time limit, either, so you've got ample opportunity for exploration off the beaten track. This is made easier by the fact that you've got loads of lives. It's difficult to say how many because, as you travel around, you can collect loads more. In fact, you might even end up deliberately sacrificing a couple of lives to get into a secret room with plenty more. It feels unnatural, but it's all part of the gameplay.

Titus The Fox is actually rather good. The graphics are fast, smooth and very cartoony. Titus himself is a fluffy bundle of cuteness, with his cheeky grin and little trousers. All the characters are beautifully animated too, with loads of frames making them look slick and realistic. And there are over 50 different types of enemy.

The game is more flexible than many from this genus. You can throw objects, use them sensibly, get as any extra lives as possible or simply just try to solve each of the sixteen levels. If you're brave, you can even pick up baddies and throw them at each other. Whichever way you choose to do it, there are loads of variations to explore and tons of stuff to collect and use.

A password system enables you to progress steadily through the game. Collecting special padlock tokens even enables you to restart very close to where you died. And all this is very heartening for people who are rubbish at games like this.

So the graphics are great and the gameplay is fun. Is anything wrong with it at all? Yes. The music is dreadful. Thank goodness you can turn it off and retain the sound effects. Also, if you're a platform game fan, Titus The Fox might not be original enough for you. It's got some great unique features, but overall it feels a bit like an amalgamation of the best bits of most other platformers. Avoirdupois, as they say in Frenchie-land.

1. Feels like an improved Blues Brothers.
2. Graphics are very pretty. Better indeed than Blues Brothers.
3. More flexible and varied than Mega Twins or Robocod, and with a lot of humour (in the French style).
4. Music is dreadful (like Jean Michel Jarre (ha ha)).