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It's official - never trust a redhead. Apart from the fact that they tend to look like lobsters in the summer and rather unpleasant ghosts in the winter, they definitely smell of baked beans all year round and have vicious tempers to boot.

And Villain Extraordinaire, Red Skull is no exception. In fact, since he can't even disguise his auburn-topping with a nice dye, the effect is magnified a thousand-fold. To wreak his revenge on the sweet-smelling blonds and brunettes of the world, Red Skull's got himself a device to control the minds of America and presumably burn off their flowing locks. It's up to Captain America and his mucho macho crew - Hawkeye, Vision and Iron Man - to lay on the superhuman strength, save the world and come up smelling of roses (but not red ones).

Captain America and company are all cult superheroes of Marvel Comics fame.

Guide one of four superheroes through five levels of nastiness to wipe out the evil Red Skull and save the world.

These sacred items are fairly few and far between but almost worth waiting for. Some are presented to you by the likes of Quicksilver - such as the Large Life Disc which boosts your life bar by twenty percent. Others like the Small Life Disc give you ten percent more energy. The Wasp also pops up and protects you for a limited period. Namor the Submariner also turns up occasionally to give you directions or a helping hand in your quest and the super cool Wonder-Man even lends you his motor when the going gets tough.

There are four swishy superheroes to choose from - the ol' Cap'n himself, the mighty Iron Man - a seriously weighty opponent, the sharp-shooting Hawkeye and Vision. Each has his own strengths and weaknesses along with their own armaments and special weapons.

1. Captain America The big bossman of the Avengers, the Captain used to be a freelance artist named Steve Rogers before getting a yen to become the living symbol of liberty, justice and the American way (Route '66 presumably). He was part of the 'Super Soldier Project' which kitted him out with an unbreakable shield and scored a big ya boo sucks against the Nazis.
2. Iron Man
   After stuffing his face for too many years, it came as no surprise when the heart of Tony Stark, President of Stark Industries and inventor extraordinaire turned up its toes. Fortunately, before he completely snuffed it, he managed to make himself a metal heart to keep him ticking over. He became so attached to this that he designed himself a swanky suit to match. He can now shoot repulsor beams from his hands and weigh a massive 425 pounds without being called a fat git.
3. Hawkeye
   The superhero with a never-ending supply of arrows, where he keeps them we dare not ask. Hawkeye, former adventurer, ace shot, possessor of super-human sight and dexterity and major MASH fan, used to be called Clint but it's not something he likes to be reminded of.
4. Vision
   The android with the mostest, Vision, a keen biologist and engineer, is empowered by light gathered by the gem in his forehead which converts at will to a super go-fast solar beam weapon. He is perhaps the only machine on Earth that's actually married.

This weird hybrid of a game is a shoot-'em-up and beat-'em-up combined. In some sections you can decide which way you want to play it - punching hell out of the enemy, picking up barrels, spanners or rocks to chuck at them or shooting your character's particular weaponry at them. In others you do underwater, or take to the sies where it's shooting time only. Then in training mode you can practise your skills against each other. Jump, punch, shoot, escape or defend - the choice is yours.

Naturally, the five stages ain't going to be doddle, you're going to have to face some decidedly unpleasant personages along the way, each have their own special way of causing you severe pain and agony and all score you points when you blast them out of the water (or the sky or whatever).

The likes of Whirlwind with his vicious tornado attack picks you up 15,000 points if defeated, the Grim Reaper with his whirling tool scores you a tasty 25,000 smackers, Ultron, with his eyebream, spinning tackle and red hot pillar of fire picks you up 40,000 if wasted while scary monster Mecha Red Skull with his punches, machine gun shots, tornado attacks, chest beams and swinging magnet balls is a snip at 70,000 points.

Predominantly cacky graphics, severe sprite flicker, tinny sounds, and an unoriginal concept should add up to a pile of poo but in a pappy sort of way, it's a really fun game. In the main part, there aren't really enough levels to keep you amused more than a day at the very very most - and that would have to be on Hard setting with only three continues - but at least the training mode, where you can wipe the floor with a mate, gives a little more lastability. All in all, a good laugh but totally lightweight and not really worth the dosh.

As the whole world probably knows by now, I do like a good Marvel Comic. So, as you can probably imagine, I was looking forward to this. Well, as a conversion, this scores rather highly. It plays just like the Data East coin-op, with all of the moves contained in the arcade machine making an appearance.

As Lucy said, the game looks like a pile of cack, but it plays rather well. The problem with the game is that it's way too easy, and whilst it's a good laugh, you'll complete it rather quickly and, after that, the game holds no more interest. For Avengers' fans, this is worth a whirl. Other people should avoid this like the plague and check out Streets Of Rage II instead. It's only a fiver more and it's infinitely better.

Presentation 65%
P. A nice range of options, not a bad title screen and lots of cartoony excerpts throughout the stages.

Graphics 52%
P. There's some really large enemy sprites...
N. ...but the whole thing flickers horribly at times and the backgrounds are just utterly basic.

Sound 69%
P. Easy to control and really good fun to play with some goodly enemies to waste.
N. Originality doesn't even enter the equation.

Lastability 66%
P. Amazingly addictive initially and the training mode stretches interest even further.
N. It's rather too easy and, once completed, there's nothing to bring you back.

Overall 67%
Initially very good fun but it looks awful and the thrill soon wears off - not a highly recommended experience. For the ultimate beat-'em-up of this type, check out the incredible Streets Of Rage II.