Platform games are all very much alike, you know. Actually, you've probably worked this out for yourselves by now, haven't you? Dashing madly through garish landscapes, jumping on strange creatures of varying size and nastiness to either save a loved one or to collect the bits of some all-important machine seems to be about the sum of most platform plots.

It doesn't stop them selling by the bucketload though, so perhaps I should just stop moaning and get on with doing what I'm paid for.

Nicky Boom has jumped well and truly on to the bandwagon of dull plots )there I go again) as we are informed by the manual - though not in those exact words obviously.

Nicky is just your average six-year-old French boy, spending his days doing what ever French boys do (make your lewd comments at this point). But shock horror! Nicky's grandad has been kidnapped by a wicked witch who is keeping him locked in her dungeon until he spills the beans about the secrets of the Forest People, of whom he is custodian.

On hearing the news, Nicky immediately let's go of the kitten he was torturing and sets off into the (probably enchanted) forest to rescue the senior male patriarch of the Boom extended family unit. Why he just didn't tell his dad I don't know, but anyway...

The usually friendly and cute forest beasties have been turned by the witch intro her snarling protectors, so Nicky must - surprise, surprise - jump on their heads to eliminate them. Sweets and cakes are littered around to give our hero extra strength, and bombs can be found from time to time.

On progressing through a number of the levels, I was surprised by the depth and skilful mapping of the game. There is actually quite a large, if simple, puzzle element to the whole affair that I found very addictive.

Sound FX are well above average - there's even what I think is some French sampled speech in there - and the animation, while over-cute, is unarguably colourful and detailed.

Nicky Boom is unlikely to be remembered as an all-time Amiga great, but having said that, it does possess that certain addictive and fun quality that many games in the genre lack.

Nicky Boom. That cannot be his real name. I think it must have something to do with his penchant for all things explosive. Quite why he spits apple cores and other assorted fruits is beyond me. Perhaps it is a funny French joke.

No. You do not want to know the story. Fine. Nicky's granddad's being held by a wicked witch. She is forcing him to show her his special secrets, but he won't. Nicky must find the witch's den and save the old fella pronto. There. What did I tell you?

Nicky Boom is pretty - sorry, ugly - standard fare. Platforms + Ladders + Monsters + Special Scenery + Shooting + Jumping = Nothing New. And the bombs do not even play much of a part!

Alain Lambin must be a member of the Burning Pants Club, for they are surely on fire after his claim to be an artist and a musician. The man has been given a lot of colour to play with and he obviously not afraid to use it. Extraneous detail abounds, too, and it does not make for a pretty picture. The music is bland and unsuitable, and the spot effects are not special.

To its credit, there are many hidden features. Digging through the mud to discover ladders and bonus points is alright. There is little else worth discovering though. Nicky Boom is the sort of average fare played by the likes of Mean General Ordinary who lives at Mundane MiddleOfTheRoad.

The eight lengthy levels each come with a code, so you do not have to endure previously completed ones lest you fluff it, but there is little chance of that anyway. The difficulty curve must have come free with a packet of Cornflakes. My dog, Stumpy, finished it in half a day.

There are only two taxing aspects of Nicky Boom's playability. One is the tedious task of having to fall into unknown territory only to find an inch of deadly water below. The other is some of the enemy characters shooting bullets in Nicky's direction. Now they at least present a challenge. Otherwise, it is pretty much like talking a leisurely stroll through the countryside, throwing old fruit at anything animate.

Nicky Boom won't blow anyone away, that is for sure. I cannot help feeling sorry for it, like something the car's brought in which has to be put it out of misery.