Here's one for you. What new 3D platform-cum-adventure star could possibly be as foxy as the legendary, lovely Lara Croft? Why, Kingsley the cartoon, er, fox, of course.
Gideon Kibblewhite

No, honestly - Kingsley really is quite cute, actually, and the game he stars in could even be described (loosely) as a sort of cuddly Tomb Raider. Before you dismiss Kingsley's Adventure out of hand though, or fob it off on one of your nephews, you may be surprised to learn that it's a surprisingly testing examination which might even appeal to a few of you oldies.

Its scenario, mind, is an extremely ripe one indeed. To cut a crap story short, it involves an errant wizard, a stolen book of magic and the small matter of a knighthood. These are all the excuses Kingsley needs leap and fight his way across the Five Kingdoms, its five castles, four dungeons and two islands. After a short lesson in Kingsley's castle, showing you how to make him jump, push crates, pull levers and kill things, you're just about ready for the off, and already aware of how the camera system could make life tricky for the young fox.

Holding onto Kingsley's five lives quickly proves a tricky task indeed, for after a brief chat with the friendly locals of Sea Island you immediately face a nightmare quest. This pits you against nipping crabs and lobsters, falling boulders, chasms of death and guards with swords and tridents, not to mention a tough end-of-level boss. Sure enough, all of this is made doubly difficult by the aforementioned camera problems. As the game unravels, the correct timing of jumps and the correct positioning for a good sword-slash, shield-block or barrel-dodge continues to be more a matter of luck than judgement, and death near the very end of a level is an ever-constant hazard.