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You can't keep a good villain down (missus) and one such mean dude is Drax. After being defeated by the barbarian (in Barbarian, surprisingly enough), he vowed revenge on all who'd crossed him. To prevent him from fulfilling this threat, you - either as the hunky, axe-wielding barbarian or the sword-swiping, busty Princess Mariana - must hack your way to his fortress and slay the nasty old mage.

There are four flick-screen levels, even in the form of a small maze; archways allow you to reach paths at 90 degrees to the current one, a sword compass aiding navigation. Keys, lies and magical items to defend against Drax's guardians can be found but much more frequently encountered are the various monsters. A variety of moves are at your disposal to slay (amongst others) Neanderthals, orcs, giant grubs and mutant chickens!

Considering the repetitive one-on-one hack-'em-up action of the original Palace Barbarian (The Ultimate Warrior), the sequel is quite a departure. Sheer variety of moves has been sacrificed for exploration, lots of enemy sprites and mild arcade adventure elements. The change certainly went down well with the Zzap! crew of Issue 40 (August 1988), who gave it 96% and a Gold Medal.

Paul Glancey said, "it's easy to get involved in the violent gameplay", while Paul Sumner enthused, "anyone who enjoys beat-'em-ups of any style will love Barbarian II and can be assured of money well spent".

Two years on, gameplay seems a lot more crude and cliched, and lastability dubious. Attack moves are adequate but it's frustratingly easy to accidentally turn around when you want a low swipe - and if you're backed against a wall, that means you'll lose lots of energy before you can face your opponent again.

Sprites are well designed and animated, the sequence where you teeter on the edge of a pit particularly good, and there are some brilliant sample-like effects. Aesthetics aside, Barbarian II is a fun but limited sword and sorcery jaunt.