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It only took a lifetime to build up the courage to return to the open water. Jaws achieved irreparable damage to keen oceanic swimmers, convincing the world of the dangers that lurked within its realms. 40+ years on, and this scarred reviewer is about to dip his toe in the ocean again; along comes Restless Andre to remind me that there truly is a threat to life if I date venture into this aquatic frontier.

Restless Andre is a top-down, single-screen affair in which you control Andre, who begins the game as a nutter of a swimmer tasked with navigating the maze of harbour walls to collect a variety of items within the landscape in order to progress to the next level. Of course (and back to the Thalassophobia), there are the creatures of the deep to avoid at all costs, as they are fatally dangerous. A number of them rove in a predetermined fashion, while others are as random as a plate of jelly on the Waltzers.

There are sharks, sea-urchins, and stringray to contend with that make completing a simple collect-'em-up task a dire challenge.

Fortunately for those who don't like it wet, the game progresses onto dry land, upon which our fidgety hero drives cars over various terrain, avoids desert hotrods and metropolis traffic.

Then in true "I'm bored with this!" fashion, he even flies an aeroplane to satisfy his adrenaline addiction (and lack of attention span).

Each of these themes help to inject some variety into what is otherwise the same core game of twenty levels.

Overall, the game is charming and it genuinely looks good and plays rather well. It's accompanied by a really excellent 128K tune that is sure to be an earworm in my head. The main issue I have is the bloody difficulty - is it just me, or have my evasion skills in games declined greatly as I approach the wrong side of 40? I thrice-fold died before I barely set foot in the water; the random movement of some of the baddies made it hard for me to gauge timing in such small confines.

Perseverance paid off and I managed to escape the clutches of the water and made it to the land and skies... and died some more. Clearly, I enjoyed it enough to want to see more - and I'm glad I did, but the game has no real staying power. It's ultimately very repetitive hiding behind the veneer that is a variety of graphical changes throughout the game.

The game is nice and colourful with some neat animation on our protagonist and particularly on the sharks you have to avoid. It's a nice, challenging little puzzler requiring some expert timing in order to progress to the next level. It has enough charm to keep you hooked.

Control Keys: Defineable.
Joystick: None.
Graphics: As good as they need to be for this type of game.
Sound: Functional.
General Rating: Nicely made, well presented but it's never going to be a firm favourite.