Combat games have been around for a long time now and martial arts are probably the most popular. The seven are: The Way Of The Exploding Fist, Bruce Lee, Kung Fu Master, Way Of The Tiger, Avenger, Samurai Trilogy and Uchi Mata.

The Way Of The Exploding Fist was the Mastergame in the first issue of Amstrad Action. It's a traditional kick 'em-up for one or two players, and is still good even today. Bruce Lee was Raved about in the following issue and was more of an arcade game than a combat game. AA 11 saw the arrival of Kung Fu Master, which notched up a respectable 72%. Way Of The Tiger got 70% in issue 8 and the sequel, Avenger, got Raved about eight months later. Samurai Trilogy got the worst rating of all at 47% in AA24 and the compilation rounds off with 65% for Uchi Mata, reviewed in AA20.

If you're a fanatical combat gamer you'll find this compilation unbeatable, but seven combat games may be just too much for people with a more delicate stomach.

Kick-'em-in green.