Not again! Seeing this sub-standard bore in one compilation was bad enough, but twice in two months? Pull the other one! If you've already read my Shadow Warriors review in the Ninja Collection compilation last issue, you'll know I thought the game was decidedly average. If you haven't, read it now - I'm not reviewing it twice! [You're fired - Ed]

If Shadow Warriors was an average game, Golden Axe is an absolutely mega-stonkingly splunciferous one! Scoring an incredible 96% in issue 67, the game has hardly dated at all.

You've three characters to choose from: a dwarf with a big chopper (ooer!), a barbarian with a long thin weapon (fnar, fnar), or a woman with, erm, a sword (well, you try turning that into a double entendre!). Your task is to hack your way through the legions of baddies, climaxing (gkak, gkak) in a dramatic encounter with Death Adder, stealer of the golden axe and slayer of your parents.

So what makes it so fabby? Well, the backgrounds are so good you could almost frame them and hang them on your wall, the sprites are great, and the animation and FX are unbelievable! A well-thought-out spell system adds depth to the game without slowing down the action, making Golden Axe arguably the best hack-'em-up ever released on the Commodore. If you missed it first time around, don't miss out again.

This game isn't quite as good as the film, but its a damn fine game nonetheless.

Although offering nothing new in the gameplay stakes (straightforward combat/platform action, supplemented by overhead driving levels), it's choc-full of variety, and addictive enough to make you want to play again.

Though the backgrounds are unremarkable and the sprites a little blocky, you just have to keep playing to see what's around the corner, which is exactly as it should be. Not polished enough to earn a Sizzler, but worth more than the 76% it got in issue 71.

Winner of the 1990 'annoy the reviewer' prize in the most irritating title category, Iron Man isn't a bad game either.

Basically an updated version of Super-Sprint, you race one of four off-road vehicles around a 3D dirt track, using the rotate/accelerate control method. Being an off-road machine it can take a fair amount of punishment, but continually hitting opponents or scenery costs time, and eventually impairs your vehicle's performance - it's a good job you can spend your winnings on spares or repairs after each race!

It's difficult to imagine Iron Man being any better. The graphics are great, the sprites tiny but effective, and there's not a multi-load in sight! Some of the presentation screens are a little sexist [Poppycock! - Ed], but I've no complaints about the game, especially when playing against two human opponents. Scoring 85% in Issue 66, personally I can't understand why it wasn't a Sizzler.

If Ocean had put in a decent beat-'em-up instead of Shadow Warriors, 2 Hot 2 Handle would have been an essential purchase. Even so, it's still worth the asking price for the other three. Nice one, Ocean!