Throughout this eclecticism, Spyro maintains his cutesy appearance, but cunningly, he (it?) has learnt new skills. Flying has vastly improved, meaning you're now able to glide and hover in order to reach otherwise unobtainable portions of the levels. And - once deadly to him - Spyro has finally overcome his fear of water, allowing him to investigate aquatic areas at speeds that'd put even Duncan Goodhew to shame. Add climbing and headbashing and Spyro instantly becomes a far more well-rounded action hero. These skills all remain inaccessible for a long time too. The game's answer to Del Boy occasionally teaches you how to perform them, for the price of a few hundred gems. This not only gives the manifold jewels some point, but also encourages the player to return to earlier levels to collect them all.

Spyro's not without its faults though, specifically the in-game camera. It does enable you to see the little fellow cantering towards you, in such a way that you soon believe he'll jump out of your TV and into your living room at any point. This is pretty, but highly irritating if you want to know what's in front of you.

The whole thing's just so damned cute too; you'll need to have a bucket on hand just to get through the first level. But then if you're aware of the original, you'll already know this and will presumably be quite happy to sit in your novelty slippers and play it until the mewling cowleks come home. As a kids' game it'll have cheatline phones ringing constantly and will undoubtedly be this year's 'must have' stocking filler. But even for the more experienced player, Spyro 2's got plenty to offer.