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One of Sega's newest arcade beat-'em-ups is Golden Axe, a game in which you get to guide one of three characters, Barbarian, Amazon or Dwarf, through hostile territory on the way to wrest the Golden Axe of the title from the clutches of an evil demon. In this Sega conversion, you can only play the Barbarian, but everything else from the coin-op has been included in this hack 'n slash fighting game.

The mission starts on the road to Turtle Village. Enemy creatures attack almost immediately and attempt to wear down the hero's energy bar. He can defend himself by slashing with his sword, shoulder-charging or even picking them up and hurling them around the screen - but they need to be hit many times before they die.

Travel further and dinosaur riders enter the fray - knock off the rider and you get the chance to leap on the back of the dino and really do some damage to the enemy! Later in the game there are also flame-spewing and fireball spitting dinosaurs upon which you can wreak havoc!

At the end of the level are two Rock Trolls - beat them and you go onto the next, tougher level. As you progress towards the evil demon's castle, you battle giant knights, skeletons and barbarian women - and at the end of the last level you finally get the chance to confront the massive axe-wielding demon himself. It's an all-out battle and there can be only one survivor...

When a game contains stuff like slashing the kneecaps off giants, throwing orcs around the screen, smacking little pixies around the bonce and riding a whippy-tailed dinosaur into battle against demonic hordes, you know it's going to be a whole load of fun. And Golden Axe is just that.

It's by far the best fighting game I've played on the Sega, combining large, superbly drawn and animated sprites and demanding gameplay. The action starts out easy, but later levels are very tough indeed, requiring sharp reflexes and ferocious fighting skills as you fend off attacks from all angles!

But because the action is highly enjoyable, you just keep coming back for more - it's accounted for my losing many hours of sleep!

If you like the arcade game, or just enjoy a good slash-'em-up, put this right at the top of your shopping list.