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Life Force, better known in Britain as Salamander, is a brilliant one or simultaneous two-player shoot-'em-up which features three horizontally and three vertically scrolling levels.

Waves of enemy ships head toward you from the outset, and each time a squadron is eliminated, a power pod is deposited which, if picked up, adds to the player's arsenal. Items on offer include lasers, missiles, speed-ups and drone craft, and they're all needed when you're up against the likes of cosmic stalactites and stalagmites, volcanoes with lava arcing through space and alien growths which swing like pendulums, threatening to crush little old you into a pancake.

And of course there's plenty of very nasty end of level baddies to keep you on your toes...

Life Force is a brilliant conversion of the Salamander coin-op, with loads of things on-screen almost all the time, and no drop in speed. The blasting action is on a par with the original, almost to the point of attempting to ram a couple of ten pees into your machine when you die. Shoot-'em-up fans shouldn't miss it.

One of *the* shoot-'em-ups makes its Nintendo debut, and how...! Classic action and great graphics put Life Force up there with the best of 'em.