BONG! Mortgage rates hit a new high! BONG! Marilyn the infamous singing hamster hits the top of the pop charts! BONG! Famous reporter Foxy Fox kidnapped by Arab sheikh!
Foxy Fox, ages 23, a reporter for the popular magazine Fox and Locks, has disappeared while on the trail of a story in the Sahara desert. Although the Shah Hassan, aged 46, a regular reader of the publication and a public admirer of Foxy, denies all knowledge of the incident, it is rumoured that the Arab business man is behind her disappearance.

Earlier today we spoke to Foxy's fiancee, 21-year--old Titus, who believes his betrothed is being held in the harems of the Shah. Titus will tomorrow morning be on his way to the desert to rescue his sweetheart from a life of slavery and torment in the desert heat. We all wish him the best of luck in his quest. Goodnight.

This is the scenario for the new release from Titus, aptly named Titus The Fox. The game starts in Titus' home town, which is a pretty rough place by all accounts. It seems that the only people in the streets are contract killer hired by Foxy's kidnappers to put paid to our hero's rescue attempt.

Titus has to work his way through the town either by skillfully avoiding all his enemies, or by picking up various objects left around the place in highly inconvenient places, and lob them at his foes. Failing that, Titus can actually pick up an enemy to throw at a member of his own side.

Go east
Titus' trip takes him from his home town to the eastern city of Marrakech and back again. A journey consisting of 16 levels of irritation, simply because you get so annoyed with the delicate nature of the control system. One pixel out and you miss that essential platform, or get whacked by a trashcan with a mallet.

Most of the levels involve scooting past your enemies to get to the other side of the screen. You aren't given a clue of where you're meant to be going. Instead, the screen just locks up for a few seconds when you get there, and Titus is magically transported to the next level.

Very similar in both its look and feel to Titus's previous release, The Blues Brothers, this is a platform romp around a toon-like world. Titus The Fox could have you hooked after a couple of plays, just because the central character is so incredibly cute. He's way up in the ranks along with the Kiwis, Bubs, Bobs and Robocods of this world, with his fluffy red fur and the adorable way he crawls underneath obstacles.

What happens while playing is you fight your way through all the annoying bits, then come across a neat little feature which almost lets you forgive it of its faults. For instance, the look on an enemy's face if you manage to pick him up is well-worth taking the trouble to see, and bouncing on springy balls to leap over tall obstacles is great fun when you finally get it right.

Running around the levels there are various special objects and forms of transport for you to pick up to help you on your way. There's a magic flying carpet, springs, bowling balls and a golden scooter, to name but a few. These are usually quite hard to reach but the benefits can be well worth the trouble.

Get loaded
One of the niggly things is that it takes so long to load. After every level it goes through the loading process all over again, including loading the same music and sound effects for the umpteenth time. The music fits the gameplay wll, it has a nice bouncy feel, with the sound effects matching the gameplay to a tee.

Titus The Fox could have been well worth playing if it wasn't for the control system and the immense loading time. With a bit more effort on everybody's part it would have been a classic - as it stands this is just yet another cutie platform game.

One quiet day in the AMIGA POWER offices.
Mark: Hey Stuart, have you seen this? It's that groovy new Titus The Fox game from Titus. Waddya reckon then?
Stuart: Hmm. Looks a bit like The Blues Brothers to me.
Mark: Yeah, but look at that central character. That fox is just sooo cute.
Stuart: Well, yes - but how many games have we seen recently with a really cute fox in them, but no gameplay?
Mark: True, true. I guess the proof will be in the playing. I think you're right about the similarity with The Blues Brothers - I just hope it's better than that. For some reason that game did nothing for me - it just didn't feel or look right.
Stuart: Hey, that's fighting talk where I come from - Blues was one of the games of the year as far as I'm concerned! Still, Titus are confidently claiming this IS even better. One French mag even called it 'The new reference for all types of platform games'.
Mark: Wow, that's no small claim. Let's load it up and see if they're right...!

SOME TIME LATER...
S: Bloody hell, it's a bit tricky, innit?
M: Too right. But I like a game with a bit frustration in it. It's nice to be jumping to joy one minute, then punching the walls in frustration the next.
S: Yeah, but that's enough about your private life. Don't you get just a little bit too annoyed with it sometimes? (The game, that is, not your private life.)
M: No, I wouldn't say so. I think you need to relax a little more Stuart. I mean, just look at those graphics.
S: I can see them - I'm getting so laid back I'm looking straight at the ceiling.
M: Oh boy. Sure, graphics aren't everything. But when a slick, mean thing looks like this, I think we're talking a bit of a winner.
S: Actually, I can't argue with you there at all. It's a lush looker and no mistake, and it's all incredibly fast and smooth too. In fact, some people might even find it a bit TOO fast...

M: (Now who's talking about their private life?) You thought Harlequin was a bit of a classic last month. How do you reckon this compares?
S: Like a double decker bus compares to a 64-piece dinner service. They're really completely different types of game. Titus is a pure arcade game, with a bit of object manipulation but none of the depth of Harlequin's puzzle-solving adventurama.

A GAME RIDDLED WITH HOLES?
M: Hey, I see what you mean about some of those tricky bits, though. It's a mighty good job they included that option to slow everything down. You know, the...
Matt Bielby: Stop slagging off Magic Pockets!
S: Who let him in? Seriously though, it can be a real boon in some of the nastier bits to take things at half the pace, especially when you're on your last couple of bits of energy with a restart point just ahead.
Actually, that's another one of the game's good points - restarts are scattered pretty liberally through the levels, usually just after the toughest bits, so at least you don't have to keep doing them over and over again. The password system is quite innovative too, giving you a code for each level, but hiding it away somewhere within the level itself so that you have to go exploring if you want it.
M: Yeah, the restart points are cool, particularly with that loading system.

S: Oh God, don't talk to me about that loading system! I'm not sure why it should take such an eternity to load each level (especially some of the really short ones at the start), and it's a bit ridiculous to have to load the music and sound effects in every time as well.
M: At least there's not much else to pick fault with presentation-wise. I wish they'd use the full screen, though. I'm sick of games which cater for the smaller American display. Still, mustn't grumble.
The size of and variation between the levels is something else. There's a real feeling of progression in there - and that's enough to make you want to push on, to see what's next.
S: You're right there. In a way the game reminds me of Hudson Hawk in that respect - indeed in almost every respect come to that. The critical difference here, though, is in the playability.
M: Mmm, I know what you mean. Hudson could have been such a winner if it hadn't been for that horrible control. The fox is just so versatile, though. I love the way that the nasties can be picked up, and then used as weapons against the other bad guys. Sheer genius.
S: Bitch of a thing to actually do, though. Titus could do with being just a fraction more forgiving when it comes to precise positioning. Still, it does add to the slapstick knockabout feel of the thing.

M: Which reminds me - what's the difference between Matt Bielby and a computer?
S: I don't know, what IS the difference between Matt Bielby and a computer?
M: You only have to punch the information into the computer once!
S: Boom! Boom! (I'm glad you said that and not me, though, I like my job).
M: I haven't laughed so much since last Friday's edition of Whose Line Is It Anyway...
S: ...especially that totally brilliant taxidermist sketch! The way that American comic just sa there, completely immobile, not responding to anything at all. In fact, it was just like...

Matt B: Look, I've told you two already, stop slagging off Magic Pockets! And get on with the review.
M: Oh yeah. You know, there's something about the underground sub-levels that reminds me of Rick Dangerous. Except this isn't crap.
S: Don't talk to me about Rock Dangerous...
M: Don't worry, I think Rick Dangerous is about as much fun as the totally overrated Xenon 2.
S: Or Kick Off 2.

M: Solidarity, brothers. Ooops, we better get back to the review (again). So, final scores on the doors for you, Stuart. Did the earth move?
S: Are you kidding? I thought I was playing in Sensurround (tm).
M: I'm not sure if I'd rate it as a classic. But for instant kicks, I reckon Titus is nearly up there with Parasol Stars.
S: I don't really think there's much point in comparing them, to be honest. This doesn't have the immediate appeal - the first levels are so short and simple, and the loading pauses between them so enormous, that you need a fair amount of self-discipline not to be completely put off at the beginning. Get past the first couple of stages, though, and you're faced with levels so big and demanding that you'll be irresistibly drawn into a serious long-term challenge.
M: Mmm, maybe you're right. I've got a sneaky feeling we'll be playing Titus way into the summer, and maybe beyond. One thing's for sure though.
S: What's that, Mark?
M: They'll never let us do another review like this.

After the super-slick success of The Blues Brothers, French outfit Titus are back with another jump 'n' run extravaganza. This time, though, the action centres around the exploits of the rascally old fox who graces Titus's logo as he sets out to rescue his kidnapped girly from the unspeakably evil Shah Hassan. And, naturally enough, all sorts of villains, henchmen, thugs and sword-wielding maniacs are out to tan his hide in the process.

In all, there are 15 levels to complete (plus a kiss 'n' cuddle end screen), each offering a different graphical theme. For instance, some levels are set in the grimy backstreets of Marrakech and come complete wit overflowing sewers, rabid dogs, drunken bums and patrolling thugs.

Others are set in the sandy dunes of the Sahara, on building sites, deep in subterranean caverns, or amongst the bedouin campsites of nomadic tribesmen. The in-game tune also attempts to instill the proceedings with a suitably Arabic flavour, but proves to be mildly irritating instead.

Each of the assorted nasties has a particular attack-pattern. Most annoying are the buzzing bees which stick to you like glue and rapidly sap your energy until death awaits.

To replenish any lost energy, there are health icons dotted around each level (often in incredible inaccessible areas) and these offer a much-needed shot in the arm. There's also a level code at the start of each area and a padlock icon which acts as a restart point should Titus lose a life.

The joystick controls allow Titus to crawl along the ground, jump over obstacles (and change direction mid-jump), and speed along the ground at a fair old rate. Speed is the key here as the player is given control over the rate at which the game plays.
Pressing F10 halves the game's speed, and although Titus's speed is reduced to that of a nailed-down slug, it makes hopping across platforms.

Help is also given via a series of objects which are scattered throughout the game. These include a spring to reach inaccessible parts of the game, and a bowling ball to flatten on-coming nasties. There's also an airborne magic carpet, a skateboard ad a scooter to speed up your progress - of these, though, the best is the skateboard which allows you flatten anyone who gets in your way. A neat touch to an already well-crafted game.

Fighting off the bumbling nasties is affected by throwing bottles, boxes, bins and other such objects at the oncoming hordes. Lob one of these in the direction of the said nasties and they'll invariably leap off the screen with an angry scowl across their faces.

Be careful not to get clobbered by your own missile, though, or you'll end up seeing stars and losing much-needed energy. After all, although there are unlimited continues for each level, you're limited to three lives, so be careful out there... If you're feeling particularly cocky, though, it's also possible to sneak up behind an adversary, pick 'em up and throw them instead!

There's very little to criticise about Titus The Fox. In super-fast mode the scrolling becomes slightly jerky if there are more than four sprites on screen, and the slower option also suffers from staccato scrolling. The sprite detection is also dodgy in places which is always annoying in a platform game. Still, these points fade into insignificance when compared to its many plus points.

Fox hunting may not be very fashionable at the moment, but that hasn't stopped Titus constructing an entire game around it. Titus The Fox is easily their best platform game yet. It's a joy to play and offers more of a challenge than the usual jump 'n' run games due to its cunning puzzles and the sheer variety of enemy sprites on the prowl.
There are more than 900 screens in total which will keep even the most experienced games-player engrossed for weeks.