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It is the early 21st century. Pollution has got to such a stage where the ozone layer is in danger of collapsing completely, leaving the Earth a barren wasteland. Mankind's last hope is a secret project that win enable the human form to withstand the harsh environment of the future.

But, as per usual, something has gone terribly awry. One of the project team's top scientists has turned renegade, utilising the secret formula to develop his own army of mutant warriors in order to rule the world.

Only one man stands in his way - "Dynamite" Duke, a veteran of many a conflict. Armed only with a submachine gun and a bionic arm, Duke must fight through five levels to reach the now-insane rogue scientist to retrieve the formula and save the world!

At the end of each level, Duke has to go face-to-face with an assortment of hard-nut guardians. This involves punching the living daylights out of them until their energy is depleted. Not an easy task, by any means, especially when the guardians have armour-plated suits with fire cannons, or can spin around like manic ballet dancers, delivering numerous blows to your head before you can even move!

Duke's machine gun usually does the job, but when things get a little too tough, he has a few surprises up his bionic sleeve, including an arm-mounted missile launcher that obliterates everything on screen!

Add to that the numerous supply cases that are scattered about each level, which bestow Duke with the following:

1. Extra Ammo 1 Increases ammo supply.

2. Pistol Enhances firepower.

3. Dynamite Punch Up to a maximum of five.

4. Bulletproof Vest Makes Duke invincible for nine seconds.

5. Extra Ammo II Greatly increases ammo supply.

6. Bazooka Pistol One shot has ten times normal firepower!

7. Full Auto Rapid fire machine gun, which doesn't deplete ammo levels.

8. Life Pack Restores lost energy.

A similar style of play to the Master System version, but the Megadrive game is that bit tougher, giving more of a challenge. The graphics are almost coin-op perfect, and there are some really nice audio touches.

However, overall, Dynamite Duke fails to really enthrall because it becomes very repetitive after a couple of days, and pretty darn difficult if you're not used to playing games like this.

Fans of the original arcade machines will certainly enjoy this, but even then, not for long.

The Megadrive version of Dynamite Duke shows just how good the Sega version is. When you compare the two, the differences between them are purely cosmetic.

As you'd expect, the graphics are as close to the arcade game as you're ever likely to get and the sound is pretty much spot-on. But when it comes to gameplay, the Megadrive version is almost identical to the Sega in the fact that it's very addictive at first, but lacks lasting appeal.

There are extra difficulty levels, but really they don't make the game that much harder. Dynamite Duke will definitely appeal to shoot-'em-up fans, but anyone else should try before they buy.

Presentation 63%
A fair selection of difficulty levels, but not a lot else.

Graphics 82%
Very nice indeed, and remarkably close to those of its coin-op parent.

Sound 80%
Nothing too astonishing - the usual mix of bangs and booms.

Playability 89%
Really rather entertaining, and quite easy to get into.

Lastability 67%
Lacks long-lasting appeal because it's rather easy to complete. The difficulty levels add a bit of challenge.

Overall 79%
Again, a pretty decent conversion of the coin-op, but only Operation Wolf fans will want to play this for any length of time.