Disneyland may be lying dormant, battered by the force of Hurricane Floyd, but its interactive division continues to come up with the goods in all weathers.
Catherine Channon

Considering the laughable nature of most 'game of the film' titles, it's easy enough to be cynical about another one. Independence Day, The X Files and Hercules, to name but three, have proved that big-screen action doesn't often translate well to the PlayStation.

Tarzan is, as you'd expect from Disney, a tie-in to their forthcoming full-length cartoon, and as such is aimed at 'the younger player'. But in these reckless times, when the same 'younger players' are quite happy to play their older mate's copy of Silent Hill, Tarzan's age-range looks a little foetal. Gameplay can often be as shallow as a paddling pool and the characters so sickly they're enough to drive anyone to bulimia. Yet with this being an all-time classic tale of teenage angst, class-bridging romance and rejection, Tarzan manages to avoid the standard pitfalls of the usual kids' game. The graphics, for instance, are typically Disney: beautifully animated and with a psuedo-3D gloss that almost makes up for its repetitive gameplay, and punctuated by generous clips from the film.

The levels themselves follow the story of our eponymous loin cloth-clad hero and his journey from boy to man. It's a more interesting story than Disney's recent efforts too (Pocahontas, Hercules, etc), and includes his rejection from the rest of the ape group, his struggle to prove his worth, and a curiosity to discover his past. But while the story is above average, the gameplay is a tad below par. Very much in the mould of the 16bit Lion King game, you make your way through the jungle, riding the odd swingy vines, jumping gorges, dodging crocodiles and chucking fruit at mischievous frogs and marmosets.