After many, many years of entertaining cartoon buffs, Tom and Jerry are expanding beyond the television screen. The latest venture for the Warner Bros. animated duo is on the Game Boy Advance.

NewKidCo, Cave+Barn and WB Interactive have teams for a romp entitled Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring.

Let’s start with the storyline (which really doesn’t matter in an action/arcade game like this, but does sustain the action nicely): Chip the Sorcerer has taken off for India, leaving his faithful cat Tom to look after his magic ring. No sooner does Chip depart, and Tom turn his back, than mischievous mouse Jerry finds the ring, and thinking it would make a nice hat, tries it on. It goes on nice enough, but removing it is another matter. Jerry frantically tries to find something to remove his ‘crown’ while Tom pursues with his own ideas about how to remove the ring.

Players can choose to enter the fray either as Tom or Jerry. There are eight levels beginning in the house, then moving to the park and beyond. In addition to the two central characters, there are some interesting cameos by other Warner Bros. characters, like Droopy.

The control elements are kept relatively simple. The D-pad controls movement direction, the A button is for jumping, B if for attack, the L button activates a power-up item, and the R button switches through the weapons available for use.

The way to move through the various levels (as Jerry) is to collect weapons, defeat all the foes presented, which will come in waves, and – at times – defeat the boss monster at the end of the level. One of Jerry’s more amusing level bosses was a woman (from the skirted waste down) standing on a counter throwing things at him.

Each level presents a variety of weapons and traps. There are power-ups to help sustain game play. The first levels are rather easy to negotiate through, but the game begins to add challenges the deeper you go into it.

Graphically the game is very solid. The cartoon characters really come to life. From Jerry’s delighted smile to Tom’s scowl, this game has an excellent animation. The sound is delightful and above the norm for this format.

This game is certainly not the best ever made, but it is delightful, and gives old friends another opportunity to shine.

This game is rated for Everyone.

Gameplay: 7.5
The levels are not large, and the action is rather rudimentary in the earlier levels.

Graphics: 8
The animation is well done, and the central characters demonstrate all the attributes of their cartoon careers.

Sound: 7.5
The sound here is nothing that will wow game players, but it is slightly above the normal for this console system.

Difficulty: 7.5
The controls are kept simple, and interface options are quite limited.

Concept: 7.5
This is an action/arcade game, but has the added bonus of integrating two well-known cartoon characters into a format that works well.

Multiplayer: N/A

Overall: 7.8
This is a delightfully animated game. If you are a fan of Tom and Jerry, you will really enjoy this program.