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The very latest in licensing deals finds Martech transforming 2000 AD's Nemesis The Warlock from pen and ink to pixels.

Defeating evil is the name of the game, and taking the part of Nemesis, the idea is to stop Thomas de Torquemada by infiltrating his bastille. Not an easy trick that, as Torquemada's deranged fanatics are on the loose. Being a sensitive, socially aware type of superhero, the warlock finds that the only way to get to the heart of the problem is to hack a few minions to bits. Not that Nemesis needs to hack them apart with his bare hooves - equipped with a swinging sword, venemous acid spit (look out Jan Leeming) and a death-dealing firearm, our hero blows 'em away with the best of them.

A single platform-filled screen is the backing for the big man's heroic exploits. Killing an alloted number of denizens opens the passageway to the next level - however, this doorway is not obvious and must be found. As the corpses pile up it's possible, and sometimes necessary, to use them as stepping stones to new heights!

Ammunition is collected, and sent in the general direction of the enemy by pressing the Fire button. When the supply is exhausted, the Fire button activates a head-cleaving sword.

A panel at the bottom of the screen shows the amount of ammunition remaining, the required number of terminators to be terminated, and a particularly gruesome depiction of a hand slowly squeezing a heart. This bloody graphic relates to Nemesis's strength, and each time he comes into contact with a terminatort the hand squeezes a little tighter - eventually wringing all of the warlock's life blood and thereby ending the game.

A visage of Torquemeda slowly appears at the bottom right hand corner of the screen and dictates his spiritual presence. This effects his minion's fanaticism, so that even after dismbowelment, Torquemeada's goons are often prove to transformation into scythe-wielding Zombies.

New hazards threaten our hero as he progresses through the levels - flying swords appear and bottomless pits open, waiting for a careless warlock to slip.

Torquemada's terminators are fanatical in their quest to purify the universe - so be pure, be vigilant ... but most of all *behave*!

As hack-'em-ups go, this has got to be one of the most grisly and violent. There's something very appealing about slaying sprite after sprite in this fashion. Perhaps it's the satisfying thud of sword and lead against pixel, or perhaps the subsequent dead corpse flying across the screen due to the impact of the weapon on their insides.

Whatever the appeal, it offers a couple of weeks of bloody good fun and is well worth looking out for. The only sad thing is that, these days, companies think that they need a licence to sell any sort of product.

Personally, I think it's a gross waste of development money, and if a program is as much fun as this I couldn't give a toss what I'm killing.

2000 AD fans are getting a bit of a raw deal with regards to decent binary interpretations of their cult characters, and Nemesis the Warlock is no exception. Martech have taken a simple hack-'em-up theme and dropped the characters into it wholesale, rather than study the storylines from the comic and build a game around them.

From a licensing point of view the game fails completely, but viewed as it comes, it makes a terribly good hack 'n slash game. There's loads of action and the effect of Terminators being blown across the screen is great.

Interest may wane fairly quickly, but until then, go get 'em!

This isn't particularly marvellous, but it still captures some of the comic strip's atmosphere. There are certain aspects which occasionally interfere with the action, such as not being able to shoot the terminators at close range.

Nemesis' plodding pace and the fact that it is impossible to shoot and move simultaneously. Still, the action feels wonderful - hacking and slaying, drawing and firing, seeing the terminators recoil when hit and watching the corpses pile up... gratification beyond belief!

Presentation 87%
Competent in most aspects.

Graphics 81%
The screen surrounds, definition and animation are beautiful, which is more than can be said for the garish colour scheme that confuses the backdrops and sprites.

Sound 82%
Atmospheric and inspired title tune and sparse but suitably powerful spot effects.

Hookability 77%
Simplistic, aggressive and enjoyable shoot-'em-up action tainted by a few minor flaws.

Lastability 57%
Not enough variety or long term challenge, but fun to pick up and play any time.

Value For Money 68%
It's unfortunate that the price funds an unnecessary licence.

Overall 72%
A waste of a potentially useful licence, but a gratifying romp of binary violence.