GSP Mr Men & Little Miss Mr Funny Presents Challenge Childrens Software

The game follows the classic format of the point-and-click adventure. You guide your chosen character round the castle using the mouse, gathering objects such as keys and parchment maps that appear useful (these are popped into your inventory at the top of the screen) and using them to solve puzzles. These are a good mix. Some require dexterity with the mouse (dragging pesky bats off the bucket in the well so it descends properly) while others require problem-solving skills (deciphering the clues on a parchment or finding the right key). You can save the game at any time, get help by clicking on your guide, Horace Finefeather the owl, and review your progress by checking on the map of the castle.

Hardened puzzle-game players at the upper end of the target age group may find all this a bit easy, but younger children (or those less addicted to console games) will love it. The graphics are great, the animations very effective and the video-style introductory sequences a reminder of when companies really cared about producing quality multimedia. --Rob Beattie

Mushoot is a compelling game and you have plenty of weapons at your disposal as the Huns come over the hills towards you. If you use your right mouse button you can launch an avalanche rocket. And for every enemy you send scurrying back, you get bonus points. All the time, the dragon urges you on like an enthusiastic football coach, cracking jokes and celebrating the hits. He is desperate to fend off the "creepy Huns". Mushoot is an addictive game which is simple to play and it is likely to appeal to all ages.

In the second game, Rooftop Ruckus, you join the sharp-tongued monkey Abu and leap across rooftops putting on lights. It's a high-speed chase and you have to watch out for the evil genie who comes running after you. The instructions are clear and the animation is excellent. The characters are very engaging and complain if you leave the game too early. Anyone who enjoyed the movie Aladdin will find this game fun and entertaining. You are awarded extra points for picking up bags of gold or for making guards slip.

Both games can be played solo or with friends and they will appeal to beginners and experts. --Justin Hunt

To play Slingshooter, you load up with berries and then fire them with your mouse button at the targets, which can be anything from a laughing hyena popping out of a tree to a crocodile suddenly surfacing from a pool. You are also given a list of characters not to target. This is a fast-moving, fun game that is easy to play. Timon and Pumbaa introduce the rules and crack gags at each other's expense, urging you not to fire berries at them.

In the second action-packed arcade game, Bug Drop, it's slightly more complicated. You have to think fast. It's a game of strategy, speed and bug identification skills. As Timon and Pumbaa drop different colourful bugs, you have to quickly match them up with bugs of the same colour. These combinations make the bugs disappear and keep your log free for more bugs. The log that fills first is the loser. There are clear rules and you play against a background of lively jungle music.

As you would expect from Disney, the standard of animation is excellent and the characters are imaginative and very engaging. Children who love The Lion King will probably be quite at home playing games in the jungle with these two lovable cartoon characters. --Justin Hunt

In Paddle Bash you grab a paddle and you get yourself ready to send balls flying as you try to knock down as many bricks as you can. As you would expect from Disney, there are plenty of fun, colourful special effects as bricks are successfully broken up. Smart keyboard skills are required as you try to angle your shots and send balls bouncing in every direction. And as you score points, you help Timon or Pumbaa move closer to a tasty bug treat. There are clear printed instructions with each game and your mouse is represented on the screen as a lion paw-print. If you want to break yourself slowly into the game, you can start at the kitten or cub level.

The second game, Conga Longa invites you to keep the jungle beat as you join a swinging conga-line of cartoon animals. The aim is to move your cub around and gather up other animals into a conga line. As you dance by an animal, it hops into your line. But if you break your line, you lose your dancing animals. With the jungle music pumping away in the background, this is a tough game to get to grips with. But if your cub dances over a red flower, you get bonus points and there are specific bonus animals you have to collect. It's an original game but it requires a lot of practice to get your conga swinging properly! --Justin Hunt

In Power Lunch, Tarzan movie characters Terk and Tantor invite you to a jungle feast, which means you have to bounce chameleon balls onto rectangles containing animals. As you bounce into the animal, the ball changes colour and then you have to bounce it into the food that animal eats. For example, the baboon is in a yellow rectangle and the bananas it likes to eat are also yellow.

The game gets progressively more demanding. There are 50 levels in all. As you move up, the balls bounce faster and in certain squares you can run into a patch of camouflage and the ball will become invisible for a few seconds. This is a simple game to play but it is rich in variations. The Disney character voiceovers are funny and make the whole game more enjoyable. --Justin Hunt

Using the arrow keys on your keyboard you can quickly move the cones to the left and right as they make their way across the busy road. The fate of the likes of Mr Potato Head, Slinky Dog and Rex are literally in your hands as big lorries, racing fire engines and cars hurtle towards you.

As the Cone Chaos game gets progressively harder, the traffic speeds up. If it gets too tense, you can always take cover at a manhole. Overall this is a quick-paced game which is easy to learn and entertaining to play.

In the second game in this title, Toy Shelf Showdown, you help Buzz take on and defeat the evil Emperor Zurg. The task is to assemble a rocket ship while avoiding hostile robots and lots of bouncing balls. This is an action-packed game with lots of different twists and turns. Buzz can stun the robots with lasers and if you run out of shots, you have to find a battery for recharging.

Both animated games are introduced by Buzz and Woody and there are good clear instructions with the title on how to play and where to get help. This is your chance, as Buzz says, to go to "interactivity and beyond." --Justin Hunt

The second game in the title, Pirate Block, is a more complex strategy adventure board game. Peter Pan and Captain Hook have decided to settle their differences on the board. To win the game, you have to either capture six pairs of your opponent's coins or create a line of six coins in a row. You can choose to be Captain Hook or Peter Pan. There is a multi-player option as well so you can play against one, two or three of your friends. They can choose which characters they want to be from the likes of Wendy, Captain Hook, Smee or Peter Pan.

Both games are quick to install and are likely to appeal to parents as well, who will probably remember seeing the films when they were younger. --Justin Hunt