Download M.C. Kids

McDonald Land is a fun little platform game created by Virgin Interactive to promote McDonald, one of the world's most recognizable franchise back when Happy Meals were all the rage.

The game stars you, the McDonald fan, on a quest from Ronald McDonald himself to help retrieve the Magic Bag from the evil Hamburglar. Your immediate task, though, is to search the levels of Ronald's Clubhouse and find at least four of his Puzzle Cards, after which he will tell you how to get to Birdie's House and beyond.

In terms of gameplay, McDonald Land is essentially Super Mario Brothers in disguise: your character is a stumpy kid in a cartoony world, who must collect the "M" logos and kill enemies by jumping on them. There are bonus levels, secret entrances, and many power-ups to keep the game interesting. Many McDonald characters make the appearance in the game at various stages, and there are enough surprises to keep fans glued to the screen.

Die-hard platform fans will wince at the game's very easy levels that are sparsely populated with monsters and uninspired level design, but younger players will find it a fun and accessible game. In contrast to Super Mario games, there is no time limit, so players can spend all the time they want to explore McDonald Land.

All in all, this is a good introduction to the platform genre for kids and newbies alike, but experts should look elsewhere. The game bodes well for Virgin's future promotional games (e.g. Cool Spot).

Review By HOTUD