Herbert's Dummy Run

Ross: Herbert last showed his face as the little nipper crawling around biting ankles in Everyone's A Wally. But now he's been elevated to appear in his own adventure.

And hasn't he grown! Herbert's now an inquisitive toddler and he's wandered off unattended into a large department store. Of course, being 'wallies', his folks Wilma and Wally have deposited themselves in the 'Lost and Found' office and are awaiting Herbert's return. Herbert, on the other hand, has quite a journey on his hands - as he searches all over the various departments in the store for his parents.

When you first start the game, the colourful background and smooth sprite movement will impress you the most. Herbert is made up of quite a small graphic, but he's only a youngster and he does move well! The little chap has three lives and he can carry up to two objects at a time; picking up objects is done in the time-honoured tradition of walking over them.

Herbert can move more or less anywhere he likes in the store, but if you want to get on you'll have to give some thought to matching up the various 'finds' along the way. Some of the screens require jumping and timing skills whereas other screens are much simpler for instance, one screen reminds me of Breakout.

Of course, overall, the humour we've come to expect from MikroGen wins out. I'd have no problems recommending this game... 5/5 HIT

Dave: The usual high-quality graphics and a standard MikroGen storyline. Great if you like all the others. 2/5 HIT

Roger: I knew they'd do it eventually - at last we've got an arcade game set in a shopping arcade! Wally fans will love it. My only complaint is that it wasn't all set in Mothercare. 4/5 HIT

Spectrum
Mikro-Gen
Arcade Adventure
£9.95

Mikro-Gen's arcade adventures are witty in an Ealing comedy way, as opposed to the Raiders of the Lost Ark fun of Ultimate's games. Both software ranges use impressive graphics, undisclosed maps, and take time to master. Both software ranges are more expensive than the average Spectrum fodder, but as Rolls Royce will tell you nobody begrudges paying extra for quality providing they have the money.

Herbert's Dummy Run is a compendium computer game. A number of the rooms within the arcade adventure are mini arcade games in their own right. So for your money you get a lot of different games - a kind of Star Wars On 45. You have to find items that let you do things, like the tennis racquet which is used to hit the bouncing tennis ball. In this respect the game is adventuresque, but go-north, eat-food, bang-headers will turn their noses up at Herbert's babyish actions.

In fact, Herbert is a baby. Just to prove it, the game loads and starts playing "Baby Face" - if you can amplify your Spectrum's sound output it is worth doing so. He comes from a good family, being the child of Wilma and Wally Week, who you may remember from the previous Mikro-Gen games. Wally looks like a Tetley Tea man, but reminds me of Norman Wisdom.

The game is set in a department store; somehow Herbert has been separated from his mum and dad. His adventures on the way to the lost and found department are like a surrealists nightmare, maybe he just drank too much gripe water.