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Raging Beast is the first computer game to simulate the Spaniard's favourite pastime - the controversial and bloody sport of bullfighting. So don your trendy Matador gear, step into the Corrida and take on the meanest bull in the sport's history - Alfonso the Awesome.

Armed with only a red towel, you must take on an angry, sweaty mass of bovine meat and make him look totally silly by plonking a rosette over his ugly fizzog.

You start in the middle of the arena and Alfonso walks on from the side, breathing heavily and staring angrily at you. Pushing the joystick in the respective direction makes the matador sprint around the arena. When he stops you can make him shake the towel by pressing the fire button and pushing the joystick left - of course this makes Alfonso even angrier and he steams towards you at a vast velocity. Just before he reaches you, press fire and push the joystick right to make the matador whip the towel away. Such insults enrage the bull further and he stomps after you with renewed ferocity.

Having successfully goaded the bull in this fashion, a rosette is bunged into the arena which can be picked up and draped (with difficulty) over Alfonso's horns. If this happens you get your name on the winner's poster and have to tackle an even more angry and peeved Alfonso again.

As you can imagine, it's not as simple as that and Awesome Alf has some horrible tricks up his sleeve. For a start, if you're not quick enough with the towel, he may turn and send you bum over breast with a swift flick of his horns or he may kick as he passes, which bowls you over. Once you're down the fun starts - Alf dashes in vengefully and, if you don't get up quickly, stomps all over you which requires a trip to the hospital for treatment and results in the termination of your game. He also sits on you very unprofessionally if he can, which also has fatal consequences.

Sometimes when you get thrown you fly up into the air and land on the bull's back, giving you the opportunity to ride it. There's a certain technique to riding the bull, and staying on its bucking back for a length period really boosts your score. Throughout the game the kindly El Spikko airlines constantly update your score and write it on the drag flag attached to the back of a tourist packed airliner so you can see it as it hops overhead.

Raging Beast is a very daft game indeed. The bull is great and really does have character, something I've never seen in a computer game before. Many a time the air turned blue because he decided to sit on me, but such frustration caused me to go back to the game again and again. Love the graphics, adore the gameplay, like the price. Get it.

This is a funny game - everything about it is silly, like the bull trying to stomp you into the dirt and when it does, two little stretcher bearers whizz out at speed to wheel you off to El Hospitalo. The graphics, although small, are fine and the bull is portrayed brilliantly. The sound isn't bad either and it all plays very nicely. It's certainly a difficult task mastering the game and the whole package is well worth buying.

Though an incredibly stupid game in every way, there's some strange quality about Raging Beast that makes it absolutely excellent to play. It's probably because it is so stupid that the game appeals. The hilarity generated by getting sat upon by a bull is surprisingly large, cries of 'get off me you fat sod' echoed rather loudly around the office when Firebird sent us this one. Graphically Raging Beast is very good indeed and has some fairly impressive high-res screens sitting resident in memory. Though there are some doubts as to how long the fun will last, Raging Beast is worth the paltry few pennies asked. Firebird do seem to be pulling their act together at the low end of the market, let's hope it continue that way.

Presentation 91%
Very good indeed. Great title screens and many neat touches.

Graphics 83%
Although simple in appearance, the main characters are very well animated - especially the bull - and work extremely well.

Sound 81%
Good tunes which suit the game.

Hookability 94%
Immediately addictive, mainly due to the hilarious nature of the game.

Lastability 85%
Although the initial humour wears a bit thin after a while, it's still tough and fun to play.

Value For Money 95%
Worth every penny.

Overall 89%
A highly entertaining piece of software.