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If ever there was a game that changed the face of computer history, Gauntlet was it. With simultaneous four-player action, this coin-op wonder spawned a whole sackful of clones, very few of which were up to the standard of the original. It also appeared on practically every computer format imaginable, several years ago, and received rave reviews all round, and now it surfaces once more, this time on the Sega Master System.

The story is this: the world is plagued by creatures of darkness, infesting 100 levels of the murkiest dungeons you could think of. Four heroes - a barbaric warrior, a statuesque Valkyrie, a small but perfectly formed elf, and a wizened wizard - have steeled themselves to enter the dungeons and defeat the forces of evil. No easy task, by any means, what with magical generators churning out monsters by the dozen, traps and doors to overcome, but there are keys, food and magic potions scattered around to help the brave quartet in their quest.

Having been cloned, ripped off and generally done to death, the Gauntlet format emerges here as fresh as the first day the coin-op appeared. The bright colourful graphics and really great sound - including sampled speech, I might add! - make the whole game just as playable now as it ever was.

The main thing that puts this head and shoulders above the practically every other Master System game available is the speed - it's got to rank as one of the fastest games around!

The sprites hare around the screen with no flicker at all, which goes to show what can be done if enough care and attention is taken with Sega games.

If you're a fan of the genre, or just want a brilliant game for your Master System, you could do no wrong with this. More, US Gold, please!