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Punks, thugs and muggers rule the streets, and only one man can break their reign of terror: Joe Blade. After all, with a name like that he could hardly be an accountant, could he? (Oh couldn't he? - Joe Blade Esq, Accountant, Worthing.) Joe's last adventure was in an embassy siege and he's been dragged out of retirement on a mission to rid the town of the baddies.

The display is very similar to the one in the original Joe Blade, a flick screen street scene with doorways into and out of the screen. Across the bottom of the screen is a row of four icons (numbered one to four) and counters for dustbins, keys and citizens. Keys are needed to open doors.

No longer do you wander around with a machine gun - it's a kick in the head for the bad guys and smile when you say that in this game. Points are scored when you kill a yob, collect a dustbin or deal with a citizen.

Citizens are the dubious-looking old gentlemen in long coats that stand in the middle of the streets. If you bump into one, a puzzle appears that must be solved within a time limit. Solve the puzzle and you have have only fifteen more to do. Fail to solve it and the game ends.

Graphics are good, but there's little colour used. The animation is good and sound effects are OK.

Joe Blade II suffers from the same flaw as Thing: lack of pace, though not, admittedly, to the same tedious extent. Solving the puzzles can be very frustrating, but you'll soon be able to do them all. Rescuing all sixteen citizens takes a while, but you could run out of enthusiasm before you solve it.

Vigilantes, don't you just pity 'em? The rest of us spend our lives trying to avoid trouble, but people like Joe Blade just have to set foot in the street and thugs with low foreheads and hairy hands (Sunday Sport readers probably) leap out from the alleys and attack them. Must be real tedious trying to do the shopping.

Still, not a bad game when all is said and done.

Clear and easy to see.

Rescue six citizens.

Graphics 59%
P. Nicely animated sprites.
N. Little colour used.

Sonics 37%
P. Good sound effects.

Grab Factor 64%
P. Kick those heads in.
N. Puzzles are very frustrating initially.

Staying Power 53%
P. Lots to do to rescue all the citizens.
N. Pace of play is a bit on the slow side.

Overall 60%
Worth the price if you liked Joe Blade.