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Once again the voluptuous Athena is whisked through time and space to fight in a world far removed from her own. Finding herself in an alternate reality where demons rule over their human captives, she decides to seek out the cruel overlord and despatch him, freeing her comrades from oppression.

The mission takes place over a horizontally scrolling backdrop of urban desolation. The landscape consists of six levels, each thirty screens long. Athena battles her way through the landscape and walks along one of four 'floors' set one above the other.

Progress is hampered by concrete blocks, which are removed by blasting, and the overlord's minions whom she shoots with her laser. Her arsenal is further enhanced by a limited stock of bombs, fired via the space bar.

The power of both laser and bomb can be increased by gathering icons which are occasionally revealed when the obstructing hard core is destroyed. Bombs have differing capabilities, indicated by the colour of the energy bar at the bottom of the screen. The number of bombs carried is also shown on-screen.

To further increase her chances of success, Athena can destroy the globe which occasionally appears and transform herself into a Dragon, which burns a path through the overlord's defences.

At the end of each level, a building blocks the way, and is razed to the ground to progres. Only when a pile of rubble remains does the next level load.

On the sixth level is the evil Overlord, who is destroyed by repeated blasting to complete the mission.

Everyone's favourite goddess has returned - Athena, righter of wrongs, friend of small furry animals and scourge of all baddies. The gameplay is naff, and guiding the slow-moving Athena around the screen is frustrating hard - quite often an enemy sprite zooms out from the side of the screen, giving you no chance to react.

The sound consists of a pleasant, if rather twee tune (which I personally feel doesn't fit into a hack and slay type game) and the graphics are quite colourful - but generally I failed to find much in the way of enjoyment.

After the less-than-thrilling debut of Athena, I was hoping a little more from the sequel. Unfortunately, the gameplay is very reminiscent of its predecessor, which consists of very straightforward shooting and collecting. The action never really peaks, and simply keeps up a sustained level of difficulty.

The graphics are similarly stark, and while the same backdrops slowly crawl past, interest begins to waver. Collision detection is also at fault: on many occasions, Athena's laser bolts go whizzing straight through concrete and creatures alike without incurring any damage.

If you like your action frustrating and slow - this is the one for you.

I thought the Psycho Soldier arcade game was awful - and unfortunately it's been converted to the Commodore 64 lock, stock and barrel. The gameplay is nothing brilliant, a sort of very simple platform game with rudimentary shoot-'em-up overtones.

Little things annoy, such as Athena not being able to turn round fast enough, and being very sluggish to respond to the joystick. Another annoying thing is that when a level is loaded, the action stops... and starts instantly.

Each level takes quite some time to load - so you're forced to sit in front of the machine. Why the action isn't held up until the Fire button is pressed is beyond me.

Psycho Soldier fans may find the action enjoyable, but I don't think the majority of Commodore owners will.

Presentation 59%
With the exception of a pause mode and keyboard option, fairly standard. The multi-load is lengthy.

Graphics 62%
Simply animated sprites slide across bleak, but neatly drawn backdrops.

Sound 60%
Average soundtrack and effects.

Hookability 62%
Frustrating from the outset, and the action isn't exciting.

Lastability 51%
Six tough levels, but there's distinct lack of variety...

Overall 57%
An average conversion of a none-too-impressive arcade machine.