"No worries, mate!" is a phrase you'll hear over and over again during Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. It's a constant reminder of the fun and carefree attitude that runs through the game.

Deep in the Australian Outback, Ty must collect five magical talismans to rescue his parents from suspended animation. Evil dodo Boss Cass has sent his minions - lizards, razorbacks and crocodiles - to thwart the Tasmanian tiger's rescue attempt.

If everything sounds a bit cute and cuddly so far, well, it is. All the characters are bright and colourful and the world Ty inhabits is lush and full of detail. The opening hub level is full of cartoony touches like harmless wallabies hopping about and ants crawling across the dusty plains.

The scale of some of the levels, including Rainforest, Coral Reef and Snowy Mountains, is surprising. They're non-linear and you can have fun exploring without getting lost, thanks to a useful in-game map. Thankfully, the map doesn't give away all the secrets.

Aside from searching for the five mystical talismans, you also have to locate Golden Cogs, rescue Ty's Bilbie friends and find Thunder Eggs, Rainbow Eggs and boomerangs. Such a wealth of items to find would normally be a good thing but it's all thrown at you right at the beginning. You don't really know what all these things actually do until you've collected them.

Ty is easy to control. Initially, he can deliver a powerful bite and throw his boomers. Later on, he discovers boomerang upgrades and plenty of other new skills. This helps to keep the game fresh in the latter stages. Aiming the boomerang is nice and easy, thanks to a useful first-person crosshair activated with a press of the Left trigger.

If there's a single major criticism of Ty, it's the shameless borrowing from Rare's benchmark platformers, especially Banjo-Kazooie. But Krome Studios could not have had a better role model, and has incorporated the finest qualities of the platform genre into this game.

Describing this as 'just for kids' is wrong. While the fun and colourful characters will keep nippers entertained, there's plenty here to challenge older gamers. Ty won't hold your attention for as long as the sublime Blinx, but this is still a worthy addition to any platform fan's Christmas list.

1. Great fun to play
2. Moves at an excellent pace
3. Entertaining villains to bash

1. Derivative and unoriginal
2. Confusing at first and sickeningly cute at times

Power
Slick, cartoon graphics with levels full of fun detail. Lots going on in the backgrounds, too.

Style
Not particularly original. Seems to be trapped in Banjo-Kazooie territory, but that's not all bad.

Immersion
The sheer liveliness and colourful characters always entice you toward another go.

Lifespan
Sixteen big stages and literally thousands of items to collect. All that will take ages to get through.

Summary
It won't win any awards for originality, but with its charm, look and gameplay, this pushes all the right platform buttons.