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ALLIGATA'S fighter, Knockout, shouldn't even be in the same ring as Frank Bruno's Boxing and Rocco.

It is the only game in which the two players fight in profile and in colour; possibly to give a better view of what each is doing to the other. If that is so, it fails miserably.

You play the overweight Italian Stallion versus Slugger Sam. Standing motionless in the middle of the ring, they try for knock out. Your strength decreases every time you are hit and after a few taps the Italian Stallion sits down while four stars flash above his head. Even a KO isn't realistic.

Knock down Sluggish Sam three times and you can load up the Bald Bull. If the punishment is too severe you can at least stroll away but you cannot dodge or duck. To make matters worse, Italian Stallion seems to be one handed. His left arm hardly twitches - not much help.

With the joystick there is another disadvantage. It is easy to throw a head punch but body punches are more difficult. The scoring system seems unnecessarily complex - a simpler system would be more in keeping with the limitations of the game.

If Knockout had been released a few months ago it might have done well; as it is it will scarcely go one round with its muscular opposition. Described on the cassette inlay as 'the fight of the century', it might be better termed 'the worst fight of the century'.