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From the house which brought you Way Of The Tiger and Avenger comes their newest beat-'em-up, Samurai Trilogy.

Based on the ancient samurai warriors, the game is a combat simulation in the vein of Fist. In this one you have to train in various formats - karate, kendo and then samurai - to achieve the ultimate title, Samurai War Lord.

The three different styles have their own set moves, but you only get about three attacking ones to choose from in each. The moves are spin kick (roundhouse), punching and a flying kick in karate, overhead, side and low cuts in samurai and similar moves in kendo. But in kendo you get an extra attacking move. Gosh!

Once you have made a choice of who to tackle, you are given your opponent's case history, hobbies and favourite ice cream!

Then you may re-select if you think he will mash you.

If he looks OK, you then allocate five points between the four fighting attributes, skill, speed, stamina and strength. Why did they miss out brains?

You must do this twice, once for attack and again for defence, after which you fight.

As soon as the fighting screen pops up, you notice the game's worst point, the graphics. The graphics, if you can call them that, are of a Vic-20 standard, featuring yellow characters with eyes like cylon warriors.

After the initial shock is over, you must get down to it. Your attack and defence strength bars are shown in red, your opponent's in blue. The idea is to bash your opponent's defence to nothing.

This is easier said than done, and as you have a time limit, it becomes even more infuriating. Many's the time my opponent had only a pixel left on this bar, while I was still strong, and the time ran out. Annoying or what?

After each fight you must re-select your attack/defence strategy; while doing this you are supposed to be meditating.

Should you beat all your opponents, you may move on to kendo, and then samurai.

Samurai Trilogy was a great idea, but failed mostly because of the graphics and terrible standard of animation. How software companies can release stuff with such a naff arrangement of pixels I'll never know.

Having said that, the music is great. Really 'oriental' and it goes with the idea of the game.