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What complete drivel! That was the cry that went up for Double Dragon the first time it somersaulted onto the streets over a year ago and landed flat on its face (although it still seemed to sell a lot of copies.) Well the boys are back in town and they're meaner than a gorilla with a tree wedged up his bottom (sideways!!) There can be few people who haven't played the arcade and even less who have not seen it or at least heard of it. But, for the benefit of the three of you who have just arrived on the planet, that's you Zob, Xanack and Borlock, here's the lowdown....

Billy and Jimmy our two heros are back on the streets but so are the Black Warriors, the band of weapon totin' meanies that kidnapped Billy Lee's girlfriend Marian, in DD 1. Their leader, the gun totin' Willy, is particularly mean and in a vary bad mood as he's been recently raised from the dead and it's given him a murderous hangover which has sharpened his need for revenge.

So he's kidnapped Marrion again and taken her to his secret base - but this time he's murdered her and entombed her remains in a magic field. Talk about nasty!

Our two, Shinto twin brothers must kick, punch, and gouge their way to Marion to release her and, using their Shinto powers, pump up the volume on her body so they can all leap into a space time continuum and live a happy and rewarding Shinto life.

The game is either a one or two player game, with control being selected from the menu. A lone player can have two brothers under control from just one joystick. but this makes things quite tricky. As they make their way towards Willies hideout, members of the gang will try to stop them in their tracks using whatever means they have at their disposal. Spades, daggers, whips, grenades, bike chains, you name it and they'll use it against the boys but if they are forced to drop an item, one of our heros can pick it up and deal out a little dirty fighting themselves.

This game is wicked! And uses mindless violence to its upmost. The graphics are large and wall defined, showing all the possible moves that our heros can make to their best ability. There are also soma very nice touches - if one of the lads get hit, then his facial expression changes to one of surprise and worry. I like that - and I like the game: it's a must for any fan of the coin-op and it will provide more than adequate consolation for anyone who bought the first Double Dragon. Rad!

Label: Virgin Mastertronic Author: In House Price: £8.95 Memory: 48/128/+3 Joystick: various Reviewer: Garth Sumpter

The team beat 'em up that knocks all the rest into the middle of next week.