TIME is never enough of it. Some days, as I re-read H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, I ponder on the possibility of time travel, of the paradoxes, of what one could do if the past was mutable.

I was in one such mood of quiet contemplation when he who must be obeyed gave me an innocuous 3.5in disc and said: "Review this, Earthling".
Gratefully clutching his manna from heaven, I scuttled off to the corner and donned my cap on which the word Reviewer was writ large.

The disc drive whirred, the screen flickered into life, and something strange started to happen. Light blurred, colours streamed, time slowed, stopped, and then began to run backwards. The years rolled back, my midriff shrank to an acceptable size, a hairline receding faster than a Brazilian rain forest sprang forwards with a vengeance.

The year was 1984, with all its Orwellian connotations. The Olympics were starting in the city of the angels, it was the 169th anniversary of Wellington stuffing Napoleon at Waterloo, and the Great God Spectrum ruled the Earth.
Ocean Software had worked some arcane magic and brought me back all those years to play New Zealand Story, a conversion of a Taito coin-op.

You are a small fluffy chick out to cross the islands that make up New Zealand and rescue imprisoned poultry along the way. The chickens you are rescuing obviously aren't in a battery farm - there's only one victim per cage. Blimey, you could jam at least 50 more in there.

Anyway, you are that small fluffy thing leaping around those platforms, that is a bow and arrow you are carrying, the defenders of the coup are armed in a likewise manner, and you do lose a life ever time you get hit by one. It's more than the opposition gets though, so you should count your lucky feathers.

Leap from platform to platform, head for the cage before the timer runs out and your pecking pal ends up as six Chicken MacNuggets. Koala bear-like things and all manner of small not so cute animals attempt to get in the way, set snails on to you and fire arrows.

Thankfully the first two levels of these things are pretty easy, always making sure you don't get barbecued by running into an electric fence.
Every animal you kill is transformed into a piece of fruit, the collection of which boosts your score. Great for you, not so good for them. Occasionally you'll hit an animal that leaves behind a new weapon. The first one is an unlimited supply of bombs, which explode with a crispy crunch.

Just in case you were thinking this was all leapy-leapy, jumpy-jumpy, there are also aerial activities to consider. Clamber aboard a balloon or, as in level four, a flying bat appropriated from a luckless bear, and take to the airwaves, watching out for the planes with engine trouble or hydraulic failure.

The excitement is, of course, immense. This is state of the art platform action, with no colour clashing either. But then, as the disc flopped out of the drive, as I sharpened my piece of charcoal ready for the scribing to follow, Father Time started to catch up with me.

The Tories won another election, the release dates for Star Trek came and past, the hair fell apologetically on to my writing slate, empty beer cans appeared from nowhere, the belly resumed its previous portliness, and I was sadly back in 1989.

But you can take that trip back in time, back when Manic Miner was king. Be warned though, time is a previous thing, there never is enough of it.

A kiwi that has his friends stolen by an Atlantic seal and has to rescue them by flying around on balloons throwing bombs and teddies riding inflatable ducks? Oh, please leave it out, what was the programmer of The New Zealand Story on when he came up with this game idea?

In truth, The New Zealand Story is a cleverly constructed example of that increasingly rare specimen hoppus frustratus, commonly known as the platform game.

Take control of the little yellow bird (Tiki to you) and make your way around the screens in an attempt to discover the other kiwis, imprisoned in cages. There are five stages and four maps to each stage, turning the game into an equivalent of twenty levels of mouth-foaming action.

The days of the platform game as a collection of levels that take you up and down in one dimension have long since passed, there are new variations here. The New Zealand Story is set in a national park where there is land, sea and air and the kiwi has to contend with all three environments. Thus odd sections require you to take him underwater. He is equipped with goggles and a very small supply of air to make it through to the other side. An oxygen meter shows you how much time is left.

Making your way around the platforms can be a tedious business so you can take to the air by shooting characters who float down from windows on teddy heads or balloons. Grab one and you move around feely. It is not a passport to completing the level though, because there are prickles and thorns everywhere not to mention all manner of creatures bent on popping your inflatable and ending your little furry life.

As platform games go TNZS conforms to the rule that they have to be astoundingly tough and desperately frustrating to play. It managed to achieve something of the cult status in the arcades, and there are obvious similarities here to that classic with cute characters, fruit picking (for bonuses) and a novel rendition of a well-worn theme.

Ocean's conversion is near perfect, though I swear I do not ever remember it being this tough. Graphically it is as close a replica as you could wish (and rightfully expect) whilst the sound is spot on too, right down to the little squeak the kiwi makes when he loses a life.

This is a must for all fans of the genre. It is an excellent conversion but beware you need patience to complete this. Me? I am off for a quiet game of Speedball or something a bit more relaxing.

Tiki and his friends are in trouble. Right Down Under in the land of geysers and Maoris the lovable kiwi has barely escaped capture by the Big Bad Blue, a large and totally vicious seal from the North. After falling out of the net containing his fellow kiwis Tiki unruffles his feathers and sets off to rescue his friends.

Exploring a distinctly surreal world of platforms, ledges and pits, Tiki is hard-pushed to rescue even one captive. Bluey has left behind minions which must rank as some of the oddest around; cats, killer stars(?), firework-throwing crabs, bears wearing sunglasses and many other, less easily identifiable creatures. Not even the most ferocious of kiwi beak snarling will frighten them off but a bow and infinite arrows sure comes in handy. Weapon-toting nasties leave behind weapon icons when they die - a fireball-casting wand, laser gun, a BIG laser gun, bombs and a handy water squirt provide firepower for this Rambo kiwi.

Tiki may not have to gift to flight but, wearing his smart trainers, our feathered friend can leap onto platforms and cross enormous gaps - well, they're enormous for a Kiwi.

Tiki's mate is caged somewhere - often high up - within the maze structure of platforms making up the zoo. One way to reach greater heights is to leap up ledge by ledge, but water often bars the way so the Aqualung allows Tiki to do a spot of scuba diving. The other method of gaining height is to hitch a lift in a balloon. Watch out tough, it's a long way down and the spikes at the bottom take no prisoners.

Every fourth level a bonus screen pops up with Tiki taking on ice-dropping whales and suchlike. By progressing to the 20th level Tiki get to meet Big Bad Blue and his balloon.