He's hard. He's mean. He laughs in the face of death, spits in the eye of danger and plays dice with chance. He's Rick Dangerous - a hero's hero who's always in a scrape... And today, just like any other day, he's in trouble with a capital T!

The problem is that Dick has crash-landed his aeroplane in the middle of the Amazon jungle. That would be bad enough, but to make things worse, he's arrived just in time to completely disrupt the sacrificial rituals of the ancient and highly deadly Goolu tribe. They've been totally cheesed off by this, and are now out for his blood. His only means of escape is to travel through their temple, a large maze-like complex filled with a veritable goodie-bag of hazards and dangers. And it's here where the player comes into the fray.

Rick Dangerous is a platform game in the traditional style, with the player jumping and leaping around the screen, dodging baddies and avoiding hazards.

The action begins with Rick being chased by a large rolling boulder, Indiana Jones-style. After that's been avoided, it's time to run the gauntlet of hordes of Goolus, traps and hazards.

Contact with a tribal person, or falling foul of a trap results in the loss of one of Richard's eight lives. Eight might sound a lot, but the devious nature of the traps and hazards means that lives are lost very quickly.

Fortunately, Rick isn't totally defenceless, and has a six-shot revolver and a few sticks of dynamite with which to deal with the enemy. Extra shots and dynamite are found around the temple - but supply is short. There are also bonus icons which are picked up for extra points.

If Dick manages to escape from the Goolu temple, his next adventure takes place in a pyramid, where a group of fanatics are holding the priceless Jewel of Ankhel to ransom. Here, there are marauding Egyptian-types and a very nasty selection of traps to dodge.

On level three, Richard infiltrates the dreaded Schwarzendumpf Castle to gain intelligence information. The hero is up against it here, with guards and security systems a-go-go.

Finally, having learned that the enemy are preparing to launch a missile attack on London, Dick takes on an entire garrison in an attempt to save the day.

Whether he does or not is up to you...

Rick Dangerous is a simply brilliant game, and combines humorous graphics and some of the most devious, low-down gameplay I've seen in years. There are some seriously horrible shocks and surprises - when you think the coast is clear, a poisoned dart whizzes out of a hole in the wall, or spikes pop up from the floor. There are also moving blocks, traps to puzzle out and, of course, loads of baddies to dodge.

It's incredibly easy to get into with very simplistic game mechanics, but this makes it all the more addictive. I've already spent hours playing the game, and am dying to get back to it to see whether I can get just that little bit further.

Barring graphical differences, Rick Dangerous is identical on all formats - so no matter what machine you own, Rick Dangerous is an essential purchase.

An excellent platform game which is both incredibly enjoyable and highly addictive. An absolute must for fans of the genre.

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Great Mordillo-style graphics and wonderful samples conspire with the gameplay to give the best 16-bit platform game to date.

Brilliant in all respects. Don't leave your software shop without it.

Looks and sounds identical to the Amiga version. ST fans shouldn't miss it.