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Guide Mickey through a host of platform levels, picking up useful items along the way. Bottom bounce or throw objects to do away with his enemies.

A long time ago, a rather smart git called Walt Disney came up with the idea of transforming the pestilent rodent from dirty household terrorist, guaranteed to frighten the life out of the faint hearted, into a cute and lovable character symbolising everything sweet, wonderful and ethically sound. Well, being the jammy git he was, it paid off and these days Mickey Mouse is a more familiar part of our lives than, well, some really very familiar things!

Owners of a Game Gear are no exception to this, and can expect lots of platform mayhem as Mickey Mouse 'butt bounces' again in the sequel to Castle Of Illusion. The cunningly-named Lard Of Illusion sees ole saucer ears out to do some good as usual, going in search of a magic crystal with the World's happiness ever dependent on his success. The magic crystal had been stolen from some peaceful villagers by an evil phantom, now casting darkness across the land. So dutiful Mickey heads off to face endless baddies and end-of-level bosses in a quest for the crystal's safe return.

Something that Mickey comes across plenty of, as he bounds his way from level to level, are treasure chests. As you would expect, inside them there is something useful. Normally it is a piece of cake which replenishes energy, but occasionally it might be an extra life or something equally grand. These chests also make handy projectiles to pick up and lob at enemies.

Ever the resourceful rodent, Mickey grabs a variety of objects and does whatever he sees fit with them. Rocks are good to throw at enemies that might otherwise be difficult to dispose of (when Mickey is underwater for instance), springs can be picked up and then used for a variety of springy-type activities, and pots are good for climbing on to make it that much easier for Mickey to scale cliffs and the like.

This version of Mickey Mouse II is identical to the Master System version. The graphics share the same liveliness and colour, the movements of the sprites being particularly fluid. In this department it matches its predecessor, and in all of the others it exceeds it.

The platform action is more complex than Castle Of Illusion, incorporating as it does a more quizzical tone. This also makes Land Of Illusion more of a challenge, forcing you to step back to levels you thought you had sussed to get something else right. There are some more showpiece touches in this sequel as well, like the spectacle of the shrinking Mickey, the ability to throw everything you can pick up and so on.

I've never been a fan of Mickey Mouse but, putting my Tom and Jerry loyalties to one side, this is one of the best platform games you are likely to see on the Game Gear.

As my esteemed co-commentator says, this Game Gear version of Mickey Mouse II is identical to the brilliant Master System game, in graphics, sound and playability.

The challenge is provided by some tough platform sections which require some thought to complete, and the puzzle element of going back and forward for objects. Basically, it's ace and essential buying for Game Gear owners.

Presentation 88%
P. There's plenty of good title and story sequences that liven up the action. N. Unfortunately, there are not any options to speak of, which could have enhanced the game.

Sound 92%
P. The 'cartunes' are annoyingly tinkly yet irritatingly catchy. The sound effects are in plentiful supply and are pretty good with it!

Playability 90%
P. The game's fast and always responsive, with well graduated difficulty. It's not frustrating at all, which helps.

Lastability 90%
P. The platform action isn't especially easy and additional challenge comes from having to rack your brains every once in a while to cope with the cunning puzzles.

Overall 92%
Mickey Mouse II is much better than its predecessor. It's faster, more challenging and entertaining - probably the best arcade adventure for the Game Gear.