Virgin Games
£9.99/£14.99

Long before the Turtles hit the scene the cult thing was a nutty TV show called Monty Python's Flying Circus. Some people thought it was brilliant and some thought it was unmitigated tosh. But nobody who watched it could ever forget the six nutters who created such classic sketches as The Spanish Inquisition (which is always unexpected), The Lumberjack Song, How To Identify Trees from Quite A Long Way Away and a personal favourite, The Spam Song. But John Cleese and the team are nowhere to be seen in Virgin's game - the star is Mr DP Gumby, the dim-witted cartoon character who has literally lost his mind!

Y'see his brain has split into four parts and each has done a runner, which dashes Gumby's hopes of becoming a chartered accountant. Until the rogue grey matter can be recaptured, that is.

The comedy starts the minute the game has loaded - the protection system is called a Cheeselock (referring to an awful protection system of years ago called Lenslock). You have to identify two types of cheese before Gumby can start his four level quest.

Armed with an unlimited supply of explosive fish, the aim on each level is to collect 16 tins of Spam before progressing onto the next level.

Creatures and oddities from the show, like the dead parrots, Eric the halt bee, the minister for silly walks and the Spanish Inquistion, are in Gumby's path and touching one drains his energy.

Gameplay is varied throughout the four levels - all offering something different. On the first level Gumby is a fish swimming around in the sewers shooting cheese to reveal Spam, and there's a bit of puzzling involved too: shooting fish down pipes occasionally makes Spam pop out another pipe.

Level two and Gumby hops into a surreal landscape and gets on with a lot of platform action, while avoiding exploding fingernails and the like. It's all very silly really, and it just gets worse (or better, depending on how you look at it). The last two levels involve Gumby being a bird in the sky and then being normal Gumby in a factory of sorts.

I found Monty Python's Flying Circus to be a disappointment. I've been a big fan of the TV series and the spin-off films for years, but the simplistic search and collect content of the game is ultimately tiresome. On the plus side the game is graphically very pretty, the Terry Gilllam-esque backdrops fit in nicely with the weird and whacky characters. Playable in the short term Monty Python's Flying Circus is a game that will eventually find its way to the back of the software shelf.

MARK [74%]

It's the long awaited Monty Python's Flying Circus, complete with dead parrots, Spam and a variety of mad characters. I was expecting much more from the game of one of the best comedy shows ever. What the programmers have done is take the cartoon style from the Monty shows and make a shoot 'em up game out of it. You walk and swim around the levels shooting characters from Monty Python sketches and collecting tins of Spam. The characters are just what you'd expect from Monty Python, mad parking signs(!) and a host of weird creatures from Terry Gilliam's animations. If all this isn't weird enough for you then try getting through the Cheeselock protection system at the beginning of the game and adapting to having your score going down from 99999999 instead of up! While graphically very good the constant shooting gameplay is not enough to keep you interested for long. Sad.
NICK [76%]

Virgin Mastertronic
£9.99 cass/£14.99 disk
Reviewer: Andy Ide

Oh, wow! Groovy! Intro ime, and what have I got to review? Only Virgin Mastertronic's fabby new Monty Python's Flying Circus! Yeah! (Hey, why don't I start off by 'quoting' loads of really, really funny bits from all those wacky and way-out Python sketches, eh? Here's one. "This parrot is dead." Ha ha ha! Creases me up every time. And how about "I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay. I sleep all night and I work all day"? Ppppffffffff!! Hahahahaha! Oops! I think I just wet my boxer shorts! Ahem. Actually, there's a very good reason why I'm not going to start off like that - I hate Monty Python jokes.)

Well, no. It's not so much the jokes that get my goat (I'm as much a fan as the next guy) - it's more the dribbling buffoons who insist on telling them. There's no escape, is there? There you are, sitting in front of your keyboard, or your lunch, or on the school coach (yup, the school coach never fails) and what do you hear? "Always look on the briiiigh..." Aaargh! SHUT UP!!

Okay, so you can call me a grumpy git if you want (You grumpy git. Ed) but show me one more cretin who sings about trees, high heels, suspenders and a bra and I'll show you a harpoon the size of which would make Orca the Killer Whale (God bless her soul) reconsider the dietary benefits of plancton. In other words, this review is going to be a Monty Python joke-free zone, okay? (Grumble mumble... Reader's voice.) Excellent.

Actually, the nice thing is, Virgin Mastertronic seem to agree with me too. True, when they first decided to do something with the licence they planned to base each of the four levels around a different side-splitting sketch. But then they thought "Nah, that'd be crap" and opted for something com... ahem, not quite the same at all. So what mind-blowingly innovative solution did they come up with? Well, follow me, Spec-chums, (in crocodile formation, please) and we'll find out (God, at last. Ed)

Monty Python's Flying Circus is one deliciously surreal arcade adventure. No, it really is - a puzzler, a shoot-'em-up and a platform-and-ladders game all rolled into one. (It's not a million miles away from Super Mario Brothers in fact.) You play Mr DP Gumby (as seen on TV), a dimwitted tree-trunk of a Yorkshireman, all Jimmy-Hill chin and no brain. And, spookily enough, the reason he's got no brain is because it's burst and split into four pieces, each of which has subsequently scarpered off and hidden at the end of a level, thus thwarting his plans of becoming a high-flying chartered accountant. So he wants them back, with a little help from you. (Obviously it's not in the interests of the game to quietly whisper in his ear that the qualifications required for such a lauded vocation need not, of course, incorporate the possession of said organ, but there we go.)

To manage this, you've got to dither your merry way across tour horizantally-scrolling/vertically-flipping levels, each time retrieving a sufficient number of Spam cans (remember them?) to trade in for your quarter of cerebral slime. The only trouble is that most of them have been 'camouflaged' behind various pieces of cheese, and since there're absolutely tons of these pongy dairy produce thingimijigs stacked up across each level you've got a fair bit of blasting to do to get them all.

If you're thinking that's not exactly the world's most earth-shattering idea for a game, you may indeed be right - though in a spooky kind of way that's the basis for it's success. What we've got here is a tried-and-tested formula decorated right up to the Christmas tree fairy with all manner of wonderful Pythonesque graphics, all looking suitably surreal, and it works extremely well.

Remember all those little animated bits in the TV show? Well, that's what we've (sort of) got here. The bloke who thought them up was Terry Gilliam, a kind of 'Invisible Monty' director), who rarely appeared in the sketches but created this wonderful world of cartoon chaos out of cut-up photographs and stuff which they then sort of dropped in among the live action bits. It's from these that the look of the game takes its visual cue, though the actual gameplay itself has, in the main, years of 'heritage' behind it. This won't be the first time you've had to make your way through subterranean tubes and tunnels, as you do in Level One, for instance, or defy death by dodging pistons and scrambling along conveyor belts as in Level Four.

This familiarity isn't a problem though - what they've done is come up with a structure that works well as a game in its own right, and then tweaked and modified it enough to fit in all the specific Python-ish bits. And very weird the result is too. Take Gumby for instance - one minute he's sporting a tasteful line in hanky-on-head high fashion, the next the body of a fish! And the villains are equally bizarre, ranging from falling weights, Eric the half-a-bees and Silly Walk Ministers to pointing fingers. Keep Left signs that zoom up-screen, flying hamsters, the lot. You never know what's coming next!

Most of the baddies you can simply avoid (although blasting them in true diplomatic fashion can often ease matters), but others, like the policeman on his bicycle or the Spanish Inquistion blokey (both of whom spit out rounds of pea-sized bullets at you) definitely need to be taken out. If only to see what handy little energy icons they leave in their wake.

It's not all blasting fun though. There are squillions of little puzzles to squelch your grey matter around as you go along, from the cheese identification protection system you encounter at the beginning of the game to sussing out how best to release a can of Spam you can't get to without it dropping off the bottom of the screen. Remember what order you need to blitz particular cheese blocks and you may get the odd bonus giveaway object (whatever that may be) hidden within too!

All of which brings us to, erm, somewhere near the end I think. What haven't I mentioned yet? Well, the speed's fine and dandy, and I think I've already said the quality of the graphics is spot on as well - crisp and colourful, this is Speccyvision at its best. The level of invention (not least visually) is excellent as well.

However, I do have one small reservation, and that's the fact it seemed to me slightly arbitary how many times you get hit by bullets, other baddies and so on before you get killed. Me, I like things to be like real life (ie one shot and you're dead) - I'm not into this 'you can take so many hits before you keel over'stuff at all. You just end up not giving a fig about anything, la dee da, waddle bounce, cruising your way through everything paying not very much attention at all really when suddenly someone (somewhere) somehow decides they've inflicted one too many 'pings' upon you and that's your mortail coil shuffled off well and good, matey. (At which point your head will spring up off its human fish bird etc body in rather a bizarre fashion.) No. I like to know more where I stand, mortality-wise.

Still, in my book that's not enough to deprive Monty of that oh-so-coveted badge of Megagame fame, it's definitely a tip-top stomper, and, as my mother always told me, you've always got to look on the bright si...

(Damn.)

Label: Virgin
Price: £9.99
Reviewer: Chris Jenkins

And now for something completely different! It's hard to imagine for an oldie like me, who was brought up on the zany antics of the Monty Python team, but some readers might not even be aware of classic comedy sketches like The Cheeseshop, The Dead Parrot, Argument, and Mr Gumby Goes Flower Arranging.

But even if you haven't seen the TV series, starring John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and all the other Pythons, you must have heard of the movies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. No? Well get the Python vids out of the shop and stop wasting my time!

Quite why it's taken 20 years for anyone to come up with a Python computer game, I dunno, but thank goodness they've done a good job of it; programmers Core Design obviously have a superlative knowledge of cheesey comestibles as well as a fair acquaintance with programming techniques. The animation is smooth, the backgrounds colourful without becoming messy, the design both authentic and rather silly, and there's enough gameplay to keep you engrossed even if you don't know what the hell's going on.

After correctly identifying a number of cheeses using the Cheeselok program protection system, you get into the so-called 'game' itself, which is more fun than a large barrel of salted herring.

Mr D P Gumby, well-known idiot and flower-arranger, has lost his brain, split into four parts during routine surgery. The four parts of the brain are now doing well - three are members of the Buzz Aldrin Formation Dance troupe, the fourth is a film by Ken Russell. But Gumby needs them back if he is to achieve his ambition to be a chartered accountant, so he searches for them through four levels of insanity.

Closely based on the Terry Gilliam animations which "linked" the Python sketches, each level is full of Python jokes, hand trees, flying pigs, Eric the Half a Bee, flying sheep, killer cars, traffic bollards and, most importantly, Spam. Gumby has to collect all the tins of Spam on each level before progressing to the next; some of the tins are hidden behind blocks which he can destroy by firing fish at them (yes, it's a bit silly.)

At the end of each level, the amount of Spam, Sausages, Spam, Eggs, Spam, Beans and Spam is counted up for bonus points, which are taken away from your score (which starts at 99,999,999, and goes down to 0). Each level also has hidden exits which lead into bonus screens. You also get the equivalent of "end-of-level-guardians" which dance around disconcertingly while you try to zap them.

Is it silly? Yes. is it a good game? Yes. Is Cardinal Biggies due for a spell in the Comfy Chair? Almost certainly.

Label: Tronix
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £3.99 Tape
Reviewer: D S Gumby

Hold on Garth, let me get this straight, You're a Lumberjack and you're o.k. You work all night and you sleep all day... so what's all this about women's clothing, eh?

Now, let's talk cheese as the whole game seems to revolve around this peculiar dairy product and DP. Gumby - the well-known spam fancier and long term dental appointment, late of Battersea who has been deserted by his brain, last seen complaining about cramped working conditions. In fact said brain has split up into four parts and gone on a variety of sunny package holidays Poor Mr Gumby must now recover them before relative sanity sets in. Gumby grey matter is collected over four crazy game levels each one of which contains a quantity of spam which has to be collected before continuing to the next level. There are hidden bonus levels, time bonuses and a large stock of smelly fish to shoot enemies and cheese with (or cheese and enemies, or cheese, spam and enemies etc...) with.

The graphics, based on Terry Gilliam's zany cartoons and are both funny and clear. Monty Python's Flying Circus is difficult but enjoyable and well worth a look especially through a periscope.

GARTH:
When it first came out it proved to be something completely different and like the latest set of Python repeats from the B.B.C. It's entertaining with good graphics and even a bit of tune. And now we go over to BBC2 for highlights from today's 4x400m Nuns relay...

Encounter death, persecution, and fluffy pillows as Virgin introduces the first game where successful players get lower scores.

Dead parrots, spam, lumberjacks, and the Spanish Inquisition set the scene for this licensed spin-off from the '70s TV series once regarded by the BBC as having absolutely no chance of commercial success.

The plot revolves around one of Python's much loved characters, the moustachioed D.P. Gumby, complete with knotted handkerchief on top, who is searching for four separate pieces of his brain, tragically lost during routine surgery. Despite the fact that the brains themselves are quite content to lead their own successful lives, Gumby is determined to retrieve them in a vain attempt to further his dreams and ambitions.

Plot aside, the game itself requires you to guide Gumby through four levels of scrolling landscape blasting all in your path and collecting various objects along the way. Aggravation comes in the form of characters from various Python sketches (such as Norman the Half-Bee, Upper-Class Twits and the aforementioned dead parrot), whilst collectables take the form of eggs, sausages (used to replenish Gumby's energy) and the inevitable Spam. Spam is the key to Gumby's quest - every sixteen tins collected gets you one of the four pieces of brain.

At the end of each level, food collected is counted down for bonus points, whilst 16-bit versions of the game allow you to engage in a pointless argument with a Minister for Pointless Arguments for an extra bonus, (achieved by moving the joystick in the opposite direction to that which the Minister's speech bubble appears).

The scoring system is in keeping with the overall feel of the game in that your score begins at 99,999,999 and actually counts down, extra lives being gained for every 10,000,000 points lost!

Immediately the game begins you are required to pass through what Virgin have dubbed a "Cheeselok" protection system - enter the correct names for two out of sixteen cheeses or the game locks up. Having passed through this, you are then treated to a sample of John Cleese's voice welcoming you to "Monty Python's Flying Circus". Sound is of a high quality throughout, with several well sampled effects and pieces of dialogue taken directly from the series, whilst graphics, although not perhaps the greatest ever witnessed on the Amiga convey the cartoon quality of Terry Gilliam's animations to a tee. Indeed, cartoons play a large part in the game itself as 16-bit versions are interspersed with excellent sketches from the series, (although these have the ability to be turned off along with sound in the event of annoyance).

However, graphics and sound do not a classic make and whilst perhaps initially aesthetically pleasing, Flying Circus delivers nothing new on the gameplay front.

Reviewer: Alex Ruranski

RELEASE BOX
Atari ST, £19.99, Imminent
Amiga, £19.99, Imminent
IBM PC, £24.99, Imminent
Amstrad CPC, £9.99cs, £14.99dk, Imminent
C64/128, £9.99cs, £14.99dk, Imminent
Spectrum, £9.99cs, £14.99dk, Imminent
Spam 1, £9.99xj, £14.99pq, Maybe
No other versions planned.

Virgin
Spectrum £9.99, Amiga/ST £19.99

Mr DP Gumby (he of the knotted hanky) has lost his mind, literally. During routine surgery, his brain split into four and did a runner. Gumby now has to set forth in search of his missing cranial matter, only his head is now mounted on a fish. The scrolling trout 'em up action is all viewed side on, and drawn in true Terry Gilliam style.

Gumby, armed only with a prize fish and some knowledge of cheese, must travel through various levels in different forms, collecting tins of spam to exchange for a piece of brain at the end of the level. Here you take part in an argument, and must disagree with the John Cleese lookalike to get as many bonus points as possible. Once Gumby's brain is back in his bonce, he can move onwards to the exciting world of chartered accountancy.