Aaaaaaeeeeeaaaaaiiiiii! Ungawa, my friends. Tarzan here, telling you all about the new game from Alligata.

Urgh! Gerrof! This is my bit. Go back to your own game. That's better. Now, if you stayed awake during history, you'd know about the epic trek that a journalist by the name of Stanley went on, looking for Dr Livingstone in the darkest reaches of the African jungle (um bongo!) A trek which ended with a bedraggled Stanley wandering up to a total stranger and saying "Dr Livingstone, I presume?" (To which the stranger probably replied, "No I'm Reg Jones, and this is my wife, Edith...") However, according to Alligata, Stanley had a bit of trouble getting to Livingstone, and this is the true story of what happened...

You, being Stanley, have to travel through sixty-three extremely hard screens to find Livingstone, dodging pygmies, alligators, man eating plants, monkeys, snakes and piranha bats (yes, it's true). Also there are some dotty old white settlers who'll shoot at you on sight, and some very nasty quicksand, plus this pain-in-the-neck bird who, if he catches you, kidnaps you and dumps you into his nest. And once you walk out of his nest, you're back at the beginning of the game again, so avoid him like the plague.

However, you are not unarmed. You have a boomerang which, if you use it correctly, will curve upwards and bop any annoying creature on the upper level, and comes in useful when you fall into underground caves, 'cos a quick flick will free the doors. Then there's a dagger to throw and a grenade to lob, plus a terribly useful pole. Why a pole? Well, when you get into places you can't get out of, you pole vault your way free! Simple, innit?

The game reminded me very much of Sir Fred, one that I was addicted to last year. It's fairly hard to play, but Alligata has given you an infinite lives cheat and a map of the first four levels, so you can't go far wrong. It's worth a look.

Tony Lee.


RATING

GRAPHICS: 7
PLAYABILITY: 7
VALUE FOR MONEY: 7
ADDICTIVENESS: 8
OVERALL: 7