In yet another big licensing deal, Activision have bought the cult arcade game Rampage to the home computer market.

Between one and three players take the part of mutated monsters George, Lizzie or Ralph, as they set about destroying a city full of buildings. Control is via joystick, with the third participant utilising the keyboard.

The monsters are initially dropped onto the screen, and are confronted by several buildings, all of which are destroyed to advance to the next level. This is achieved by climbing up the sides of buildings, and either smashing out the windows, or knocking holes in the side. Once enough structural damage has been inflicted, it collapses in a cloud of dust.

All three monsters have damage meters, which are decreased every time they're hit by bullets from army helicopters and tanks, or stay on a collapsing building. An entirely diminished damage meter has fatal consequences.

To supplement their energy, the monsters collect a wide variety of edible objects in the windows of buildings, and protect themselves by smashing the army vehicles that fire at them.

The game ends once all three monsters have returned to their human alter-egos.

Rampage is one of those games that is very dull when played solo, but suddenly becomes a great laugh when a couple of players join in the action. The graphics and sound aren't particularly brilliant, but manage to capture the spirit of the arcade machine quite well.

Control is sometimes awkward, and it's quite difficult to get your monster to climb up the side of a building without first positioning him with pixel-perfect precision.

I don't think Rampage has that much lasting appeal - once you've destroyed a couple of tower blocks, you've seen and done everything there is to do. If you've got a couple of friends, brothers or sisters to join in the fun, Rampage should provide some amusement, but if you're a single player, it's probably a better idea to chuck a couple of quid in the arcade game and buy something different.

I found Rampage oddly appealling, since you actually get to play a bad guy for a change. The destructive aspect has a lot to do with it, and the game's theme is refreshingly light-hearted.

Controlling the beasts, however, is not the best: climbing onto a building proves too precise, meaning that you spend precious seconds fumbling around its base, trying to get a 'grip'. It also seems too easy to fall off - losing valuable damage points in the process.

Both the graphics and sound are well catered for, with some lovely sprites, and the effect of the buildings crumbling, both aurally and visually, is great. A silly, pointless arcade conversion, but good fun all the same - especially when playing in the unusual three player mode.

I've never actually played the original arcade Rampage, so I approached this conversion not quite knowing what to expect. What I found was a fairly monotonous bash through some barely-changing screens. The action is very repetitive, and once you've creamed one of the buildings, you've creamed them all! The game features some colourful, reasonably animated monsters, but the background graphics are gaudy and indistinct.

The control method is little tricky, and at times, it seems to be quite difficult to actually climb buildings. I think Activision have converted the arcade game pretty well, but the original was nothing outstanding. 'Cult' is a euphemism often used for games that aren't actually too good, and it certainly applies to this one.

Presentation 82% Reasonable appearance, with a great three player option.

Graphics 65% Colourful backdrops and sprites, although character animation is limited.

Sound 63% Atmospheric sounds of destruction, and a reasonable, if somewhat unorthodox title track.

Hookability 67% The slightly finicky control method is a possible first hurdle, but practice makes perfect.

Lastability 41% Once several cities have been razed to the ground, interest wanes.

Overall 62% A reasonable conversion that offers multi-player fun, but is ultimately tedious in single player mode.