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You might think it's a breeze being a metal-headed super-being. Well, think again. Just imagine: every time you wanted a pee you'd have to drag out the tin-opener just to get yourself undone and then burn yourself to bits welding yourself up again. Luckily for Robocop, some bright spark invented a special zip to save him this agony so he can smugly go the way no tin-can has ever gone before.

The Terminator wasn't so lucky - such new-fangled technology never reached him so, twisted up inside (and out, poor chap), he vows to take revenge on anybody with their bits and pieces still intact - i.e. most of the world. It's up to the player as the holier-than-thou Robocop to, um, do something.

Prime Directive: Avoid the bullets

This is a quick exercise in staying alive. Guide Robocop along the streets of Old Detroit, wasting baddies, avoiding sticks of dynamite and collecting extra weapons. If you can't get through this one, you are truly a girl's blouse with frills on.

Prime Directive: Rescue the hostages

Similar sort of stuff, only there are hostages to rescue who have been stashed on buildings by the local crime bosses. Not much of a problem - keep an eye out for the hidden bonus room - and The Terminator boss is a doddle!

Prime Directive: Take out the security cameras

For some obscure reason, Robo has to take out all the security cameras in order to protect the place. Everything is getting a bit trickier with this one, especially the boss - his old mate Robocop 2, who's about the toughest there is!

Prime Directive: Watch out for toxic waste

It's official - jumping into vats of toxic waste can seriously damage your health, so don't do it! Also, don't get shot by the trillions of baddies lying in wait and make sure you waste the Urban Pacification Mini-Tank at the end of the level. Go for the bonus level by all means, but you'll have to face an extra arachnid-type baddy if you do!

Prime Directive: Rescue the OCP Employees and trash the office

Lots of hostage saving, Terminator-killing and dodging in and out of darkened OCP doorways in this one before a massive killing splurge of the ED-209 at the end of the level!

Prime Directive: Free the rebel commanders

More hostage freeing this time in the future, with the war between the humans and SkyNet raging around you. Lots of Terminators but the loose rocks in the ceilings which kill you with one blow are the ones to look out for. The boss is pretty easy as long as you've got some decent firepower!

Prime Directive: Just stay alive

The directive is by no means easy - there are masses of Terminators. Although they die with just two shots, they are dangerous by their sheer number on this level.

There are ten levels to Robocop Vs. The Terminator, as well as many secret bonus levels. Each level has its own prime directive which must be obeyed if you want to see the next part of the game. Here's a run down of the first seven (any more details would spoil you)!

The utter joy of this game is the huge range of heavy duty weaponry available to Robie - some just lying around while others are hidden under dustbins. These include his standard Beretta Auto-9 which is fine for your run-of-the-mill villains, but a bit sad against bosses.

There are Laser guns and homing missiles, for really kickin' firepower. The further the player gets in the game, the better the weapons get, but woe betide the saddy who loses them! Keep your eyes peeled for various energy replenishers lying around as well.

I actually prefer this version over the Megadrive one! But I think the reasons can be justified. The feel of this exquisite blaster is ace, with perps exploding all around. There's loads to shoot, including security cameras and apartment block windows.

The game is pacy too, and you don't feel so much of a target as in the Megadrive version: you're giving the hits, not taking them. There's plenty of presentational faff rarely seen on the Master System these days, part of it being some excellent digitised speech.

This only confirms Robocop Vs. The Terminator as one of the top Master System games of the year.

Like the Megadrive version of this game, I found it a really good blast. Naturally this version is a bit simplistic compared with its other half, but the graphics are still good for the Master System (despite some slow-down and flicker) with some really detailed backgrounds and large bosses.

There are lots of different weapons to exploit and loads of fiends to splatter. There's even digitised speech for chrissakes! This is basic shoot-'em-up/platform action but still one of the best games I've seen on the Master System for ages although hardened gamers might find it too simple on Easy level!

The two movie cyborgs were first brought together in a four-part series written by Frank Miller for Dark Horse Comics.

Guide Robocop around the platform levels, carrying out the prime directive he's given at the start of each one.

Presentation 89%
P. Basic intro screen and basic options - a nice, polished feel to the whole thing.

Graphics 87%
P. Ace sprites and simple but effective backgrounds.
N. It does suffer from some slowdown and sprite flicker if the number of sprites on screen gets too much.

Sound 92%
P. Digitised speech and some nice blasting noises. The music's typical tinny Master System fare, but it's still pretty good.

Playability 91%
P. Really easy to get into. It starts off very simple, but quickly gets very tough.

Lastability 88%
P. Really challenging stuff which gets better the further you play. Oh, and there are all those secret bits to find!
N. Hardened players might find it a tad too easy.

Overall 89%
A brilliant standard of programming and a great homage to the characters. And an utterly addictive platform shoot-'em-up from the word go.