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The gibberishly named Aarzak must rescue his girlfriend from an evil trio in the Ultimate Savage Land, a quest which takes him through four 'chapters', each containing seven battle areas to fight through. To impress his foes, Aarzak has a variety of jumping, punching and kicking moves. Each successive hit increases his Power rating so less hits are needed to finish off the big guy at chapter's end.

But first, Aarzak has to find the correct route: between each area, a map shows a choice of paths. The trouble is that neither this, the useless Japlish advice from Aarzak's friends or the manual gives any clue to the right route. So you have to backtrack through 'conquered' lands, fighting the 'conquered' enemies all over again. Arduous trial and error is never a good basis for a game, and the search for the correct route proves repetitive and frustrating - especially as you can only use energy top-ups once. It wouldn't be so bad if the beat-'em-up action weren't so mediocre. Unfortunately, you only have a few basic combat moves to choose from and progress is made difficult only by the sheer number of similar-looking enemies, all distinctly unintelligent.

As soon as you start playing, you'll see the similarity to Images' Shadow Dancer. The scroll technique, presentation and even sound effects are all very similar. Unfortunately, the graphics simply aren't in the same league. They're very blocky and mediocre; occasionally end-level sprites have overlays but they still look remarkably dull. Backdrops are occasionally worth a look when they're not the boring 'wasteland' style, but ultimately the game has astonishingly little to attract your attention.

Let's hope this really is Aarzak's last battle!

Presentation 52%
Multi-load per chapter. Mediocre intro sequence and map.

Graphics 48%
Ok backdrops but dull-looking Aarzak and enemies.

Sound 53%
Standard Shadow Dancer spot FX but weak intro and title.

Hookability 39%
Far too familiar and shallow gameplay to impress.

Lastability 44%
With no clues as to which way to go and unrelenting attacks, it's frustrating.

Overall 43%
Very familiar, unrewarding beat-'em-up action beaten up by lack of gameplay.