Being in a jungle, you will encounter the odd animal or two

most of it is out to get you.

Pressing the Shift key causes Sabre man to leap into action, drawing his sword and fencing with great skill in the direction in which you last travelled.

Most of the animals can be despatched with one blow of your mighty sword.

Rhinos and natives, however, are only frightened and run in the opposite direction. While on the subject of fighting, I found that the best tactics were to hold down the Shift key all the time.

This way, Sabre man tears through the undergrowth slashing at everything that moves. It may not be subtle but it is effective.

The animals are not the only factor in the game - the jungle contains many wild orchids. The colour of the orchid determines its effect upon our hero should he pass over it.

Orchids can cause Sabre man to become ill, or cure him. They can produce changes in the speed at which he travels, and they can even reverse the direction of movement produced by the keyboard controls.

My only major gripe about the game is the choice of controls. Cursor keys for left and right, A and Z for up and down, and either Shift key to fight.

There is no joystick option and no facility for the user to select his own keys.

Overcoming the poor choice of control keys is the player's main problem when beginning the game.

Had Ultimate paid just a little more attention to the control, the game would have lived up to their name.

As it stands, it is still very good, but it takes that little bit longer to master.

Jon Revis