Super meat boy

12 cert, Team Meat, Xbox Live (also Wii, PC) ***

What's with buzzsaws and platform games? From Super Marioto Megamanto the classier Limbo, the spinning blade is ubiquitous. Here, playing a bloody cube named Meat Boy, you must rescue Bandage Girl from Dr Fetus. Super Meat Boy is a strange mix of the icky and avant-garde. The graphics and gameplay are basic and retro. With simple jump-and- sprint controls, it takes its cues from classics such as Super Mario Brothers(notice the initials?) What it amounts to is a series of very short stages that require timed jumping and running to, from, over and around nasty things such as blades, chasms and flames. The physics are logical, though the gameplay is difficult and allows for zero margin of error. Even as you're cursing the game, you'll be back for more, and there's a nice selection of hidden levels.