It's going to be like Take Your Pick these next few months with regard to Saturn fighting games. The hosts will be telling you to buy Virtua Fighter, and your family will be urging you to purchase X-Men. Everyone else in the crowd will be shouting 'Guardian Heroes is the one for you' and in the culmination of all the noise and panic you'll shout "I want Golden Axe: The Duel" Silence. The box 13 of beat 'em ups.

Basically the fighting genre is gearing up for multiple releases this Christmas, with some big name games entering the market, Golden Axe is Sega's in-house attempt, and hey, it certainly doesn't have much to compete against, does it? Originally an arcade game, and the first to use the Titan board, it was a surprise hit and quite rightly has earned a conversion to home consoles. The format is familiar: beat up everything in sight, and produce a few spectacular moves to accompany it.

There are ten fighters to choose from, and those familiar with Golden Axe will recognise some characters from the original. Blade, Flare and Gilius are all here along with evil of all evil: Death Adder.

The magic-carrying dwarves from the original have been included into this game and still serve a similar purpose. Give them a kick in the head, and they drop a couple of potion vases. Once five elements have been collected, Power Up will appear on the bottom left, and by pressing X, Y and Z, you'll be able to utilise the special powers. Each character has one awesome move, and it can only be done when the magic is in use.

It's the mark of the nineties you know. Take an old classic from the golden Megadrive years and then play around with it, give it some nice graphics and make a new game.

Hang On's been revamped, as has Shinobi, and now Golden Axe. The result is a colourful beat-'em-up to say the least and has some excellent, completely OTT special moves. The characters are well drawn, and despite their size on close-up sections, still manage to slap and pull hair at a good pace.

But, it seems to lack the long term appeal of, say, Virtua Fighter. There aren't any secret characters that we know of, and once the game is completed, there is a lack of combos or hidden capers to bring you back for more.

Golden Axe: The Duel brings home all the possibilities of the Saturn/Titan linkup. This is an arcade-quality beat-'em-up, well it is the same code as the arcade. The most striking aspect is the graphics, which have more intricacy and colour than any other next generation beat-'em-up of the moment.

Although the animation on many of the basic moves is not loin-stirring stuff, Golden Axe reserves some real epic special attacks that aren't that hard to pull off - Keel's icy giant being particularly memorable. In one-player mode, this is pretty standard stuff, not helped by the characters being rather bland.

The real fun comes in long head-to-head sessions, where the speed and quality of the gameplay comes across.

Graphics 92%
P. Fantastically colourful sprites and backdrops. Lots of detail on all of the characters.

Animation 90%
P. The fighters' moves and special attacks have multiple frames, which are smoothly linked together.

Music 83%
P. The tunes fit each of the stages well, and the opening tune is very atmospheric.

Effects 80%
P. Lots of grunts and groans accompany moves.
N. But they all sound like pigs.

Playability 82%
P. Unleashing a special move on your opponent is most satisfying.
N. One player mode won't last as long.

Lastability 81%
P. Two player mode has long term appeal.
N. Once the special moves have been mastered, interest wavers.

Overall 85%
Not quite as appealing as Virtua, but if you found it in your Christmas stocking, you wouldn't be disappointed.