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Last year Virgin/Mastertronic released conversions of Technos' highly popular coin-op, Double Dragon, and although they sold well, all versions were disappointing. This Christmas sees the same company releasing conversions of the sequel to Double Dragon, the imaginatively-called Double Dragon II.

If you don't already know, Double Dragon II is a horizontally scrolling beat-'em-up in which one or two players get the chance to walk into the wrong side of town and do battle with anyone they find there. The reason for all this violence is simple: a group of baddies has once again kidnapped your girlfriend (didn't they get the message last time?), so you (and a mate if he's not busy) have to go and rescue her.

The backdrops are suitably seedy as the heroes begin their quest, and within seconds the first gang members leap out from nowhere and attack. These are a pretty motley crew, ranging from cartwheeling martial arts experts and whip-wielding dominatrixes to nine-foot giants. All attempt to hit the heroes and wear down their energy bars - if this happens three times, their quest is over.

Fortunately, the heroes can give as good as they get, and have a range of kicks and punches which can be used to good effect. They can also pick up and use items dropped by baddies such as whips, knives, baseball bats and large boxes.

At the end of each level is a very large bad guy who must be overcome before the heroes can continue, and at the end of the very last level is the boss - kick his head in and true love can finally prevail...

While Double Dragon II is basically very similar to Double Dragon, the ST conversion is far better than last year's effort. The graphics are almost identical to the coin-op, and the gameplay is very faithful. The two-player mode works very well, adding more fun to the proceedings, and the game is challenging and addictive. It's a shame Virgin/Mastertronic didn't get it right last year, but at last there's now a decent computer Double Dragon game that beat-'em-up fans will genuinely enjoy.

An accurate conversion of the popular arcade combat game which beat-'em-up fans should relish.