Can it be less than two years ago we were all agog at Virtua Fighter? Now we are beginning to take Saturn games of the standard of Sega Rally for granted. Even so, no-one was quite sure what AM2 would make of their own dynamite one-on-one 3D beat 'em up, Fighting Vipers. Could the Saturn handle even the gameplay, let alone the graphics?

The Japanese version reveals all - and all is what's there - everything apart from removal of the background animations. This is more than made up for by some outrageous features revealed in Pandora's Box fashion.

AM2 convert their own Sega Model 2 coin-op, itself an overhaul of the VF2 principle.

Defeat, nay demolish, your nine other opponents in a visceral battle.

How many times have you whacked a mate's ass on VF2 and wished you could save it to humiliate him at a future date? On Fighting Vipers you can! If you happen to have that one-in-a-lunchtime resounding victory, press the L button and the preceding round can be saved into system or cartridge memory, complete with date and time.

Witness the antics of Fighting Vipers celebrity character, Pepsiman. Steely like Dural, but decked out in the soft drink livery, he pops up every so often to challenge you (the music here is hilarious). Sadly, Sega UK want to deprive us of Pepsiman for the PAL version and replace him with a bland, uncommercial character. But it won't be the same, fizzy pop fans.

As detailed in our previews, the action of Fighting Vipers is wild enough, but Hyper mode, revealed after your first completion, makes it demonic. In Hyper mode, you can strip off all your armour quickly and go into 'custom combo mode'. There is now no limit to the number of moves you can stream into sequence, letting you unleash a furious battery. You can also dodge 3-D style. Hyper mode offers a complete change of pace and style.

The Training Mode is comprehensive. Practice against computer drones who stand, move, crouch according to one of eight types. A moves list becomes available with instructions on how to perform each. A move is marked off once successfully performed, with a surprise if you bother to do the lot.

Once you complete the game, rendered artwork of the character you played with becomes available on the options screen.

Hats off to AM2 for, once again, providing an astounding top-of-the-range arcade machine. Every time we thing we've seen all the Saturn is capable of, along comes Sega to prove otherwise.

But Fighting Vipers is more than just a technical marvel - it's a brilliant game in its own right. While obviously owing a huge debt to VF2, a more accessible control system makes Fighting Vipers a lot easier to get to grips with, while the sharp, staccato nature of the fighting makes the gameplay seen even more brutal.

Add to that the wealth of Saturn-only extras and Fighting Vipers becomes an essential purchase.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Since Fighting Vipers has come in, I've been mad for it, even if I was never as good at VF2 as some others.

Fighting Vipers appeals to me more immediately than VF2 because the characters are groovier, the action faster and more vicious. All the added features listed here (and there are more) came as a great surprise, and by any valid console comparison, the graphics and sound are awesome.

Even if you have Virtua Fighter 2, in fact especially if you have VF2, you must have this game.

Graphics 93%
P. Fantastic scenery with the imposing trademark walls. Stunning replays.
N. The characters are lower resolution than VF2 but look better.

Animation 94%
P. The movement is so incredibly detailed, you take it for granted until you see one of Raxel's throws or a close-up replay.

Music 90%
P. Tokio's airport scene music is classic, as is Grace's skate pop.
N. The rock stuff lends the game its grungy feel.

Effects 91%
P. Loads of grunting and groaning and the sickening sound of rattling steel.
N. Really heavy armour-busting impact noises.

Playability 96%
P. More violent and more instantly addictive than VF2.
N. The incredible speed is mixed with smart, sophisticated combat gameplay.

Lastability 92%
P. A huge array of modes. Playback, hidden characters and costumes, time records and ultra-hard opponents.

Overall 95%
It could be a huge struggle to work out which is best: Vipers or Fighter. Another AM2 game slithers into history.