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Boxing is dangerous. Heavy blows can seriously affect the mind. Unconvinced? Well, consider whether one Frank Bruno would be prancing round provincial town theatres dressed as Mother Goose or whatever, unless serious damage had been done to his brain. And would, for that matter, Henry Cooper have endorsed such a plainly naff 'fragrance' as Brut had his brain not been bashed around a bit. I doubt it.

However, video game boxing has a clean bill of health. On-screen, you can jab and lunge to your heart's content, even more so with the latest digitised pugilism of Muhammad Ali's The Greatest boxing. It's a quick to Caesar's Palace, into the satin shorts before you can say "I am the Greatest", and a good few bouts of ringmeistery, courtesy of Virgin.

Licensed after the most famous boxer of all time - Muhammad Ali.

Punch your opponent in each three minute round until he falls. Do it enough and he won't get up!

An exhibition match is a one-off, for one or two players. Tournament play offers the chance to start at the lowest ranking (10), and make your way through a succession of fights to top dog. This takes a long time, so a password feature is incorporated, allowing you to save your unblemished positions.

There are two separate control methods for Muhammad Ali's players to choose from. The first is called 'Arcade', because it's quite close to how arcade boxing games work - hitting a button launches a punch. The other choice is simulation, which is a bit more interesting. In this mode a punch is made by holding a button and swinging the joypad. There's no doubt that most people prefer the 'feel' that this control method gives to the action.

One of the 'great' things about boxing is the atmosphere created by an enthusiastic crowd. Estate Agents by day, they turn into baying maniacs, demanding blood, once the contenders start slugging it out. Happily, Virgin have retained the aural atmosphere by having a vocal crowd in the background. Calls of encouragement and chants for Ali come during the rounds. If someone goes down voices are heard telling them to get up. There are wolf-whistles as the card-carriers cross the ring, and the shouting increases.

Each player has two health bars, representing power and speed. Taking hits reduces both of these sharply, but even swinging your fists whittles them away. Conserving your own bars, and reducing your opponents' are the basic game aims. When his bars are very low, the fighter falls. This is called as a KO. The referee gives the fighter a count of ten to get up, or forfeit the match.

If neither occurrence takes place, the match is decided by aggregate points awarded for each round's performance, by three judges.

Boxing is all about taking your best shot and hoping it connects. Surprisingly, there aren't that many punches to choose from, but it's not what you do, but how hard you do it that counts.

1. Jab: A quick punch aimed at disorientating, rather than damaging your opponent. Jabs should be put together into flurry of blows.

2. Uppercut: The mightly blow, the classy way to end a bout, an uppercut should come in and arc up under your opponent's chin. It's a tiring move to make, but can be devastating.

3. Hook: A hook is a nasty shot, swung wide to got around a defence. Hooks drive an opponent backwards.

4. Body Punch: As you'd expect, a shot aimed low to wind your opponent and drive his strength down.

There are ten contenders, including Ali vying for top billing at Caesar's Palace. Each has their own fight characteristics, and taste in boxer shorts.

1. Brune Franko A bit of a Raging Bill type, Bruno's a fiery Italian who favours pushing his opponents. He also goes for the Yul Bryner look.

2. Carlos Espinoza A touch of salsa from the Latino talent from the Argentine. Carlos Espinoza is constantly ducking and blocking.

3. Eddie Montague Home Boy from the Washington 'hood. Eddie grew up with the street gangs, and his style is anything that will succeed.

4. Kim Lee Vietnamese boxer, but don't worry, no feet are involved. Kim is young and angry, and goes for it from bell to bell.

5. Marvin Cooper His flaming hair matches his fiery temper, but Marvin is Olympic trained and fights a tactical game.

6. Jack Blake Jack's an old hand at the fight game. He may be a slower fighter, but there's power behind the blows.

7. Tommy Hammer He probably got his name from the weight of those hands. Tommy's long arms are constantly body checking.

8. Mac Robinson Another American contender, an ambitious young challenger who relies on a ducking defence.

9. Bart Rambler His off-ring reputation as a spaghetti eater explains all that excess energy. That makes him a stamina fighter.

10. Muhammad Ali Simply the King. Ali has the speed, the power and the hunger to go for KOs in every fight. The best fighter on offer.

I wasn't really expecting much from this, considering boxing is usually disastrous as a video game. However, I ended up more than slightly impressed. The programmers have found the balance between strategy, skill and action which makes Muhammad Ali really good fun to play.

The best feature is the control - having two methods broadens the appeal of the game, although the simulation is much better. It gives you a real feeling of connection for your blows.

You also are able to move more easily than other boxing games, though it could have benefited by being even faster. But the main different between this and its rivals is that it's fun to play. This is partly due to well thought out gameplay, and the atmosphere created by the sound effects and presentation. Some bits, like the virtuality sequence, don't come off, but overall Muhammad Ali is the best boxing you could expect on a console.

I was expecting a lot from this game as it's programmed by Park Place, the Megadrive master coders responsible for EA Hockey and John Madden Football. Happily, whilst this game isn't as good as those two classics. Muhammad Ali is still the greatest boxing simulation available for the Megadrive.

It plays very well indeed. The arcade mode is brilliant for players who want a decent button-pressing violence fest, while the simulation mode is a lot more strategic, requiring a great deal more thought. The sound effects are excellent, effectively capturing the atmosphere of a fight, and the graphics too are of a great standard.

The only gripe I have with it is that there isn't really much to the actual gameplay - but that's more a fault of the sport rather than the game. My advice is that, if you're after the greatest boxing game available for any console, Muhammad Ali is the only game you should even consider.

Presentation 86%
P. Lots of topper presentation; like speech samples and options, a password and two-player option. N. A naff 'virtual flight' around the boxing arena fails to impress.

Graphics 80%
P. Boxer animation, the most important graphical aspect, is of a high standard. N. The jerky scrolling is a bit of a letdown, and the graphics have limited variety.

Sound 84%
P. Excellent choice of samples add humour and atmosphere. The bone-crunching sound effects make it all sound quite painful. N. Some of the music is frankly crap.

Playability 87%
P. The more you play, the more you enjoy it. There's just a brilliant feel to the action. N. It doesn't play as fast or as furious as Streets Of Rage or Street Fighter.

Lastability 80%
P. The two-player option guarantees long term fun. N. Fighting through all ten opponents may not take as long as you might think.

Overall 85%
Topper is the word to describe this, certainly the best one-on-one combat game on the Megadrive - and definitely the greatest boxing simulation for any home console.