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The streets are no longer safe for ordinary people any more. Mr. Big and his violence-crazed minions have moved into the city, and their main occupations include the scaring people with their grotesque features, beating them up with a variety of weapons and generally causing a bit of aggro.

The police are busy setting up road traps on the motorways and making Crimestoppers commercials, and the carnage on the streets continues unchecked! Sick of the way the people are being treated, three heroes decide to leave the police force and become street vigilantes, kicking the excrement of anyone who looks vaguely threatening.

Their one objective is to put an end to Mr. Big's reign of terror, by taking out the man himself who waits at the end of eight levels' worth of beat-'em-up action. It's a hard task, but our heroes aren't just hard - they're living rock!

There are three heroes in the game (two of these can play simultaneously), and each has his or her own particular style of combat. All characters are capable of flying kicks, punching, kicking and throwing assailants over their shoulders.

In two-player mode, players can use each other to pull off a very powerful move which involves grabbing hold of the other player and propelling themselves into the air to produce the most devastating flying kick available in the game!

Dotted around the play area are various tasty morsels. These are eaten to provide players with extra energy. Food available includes the likes of apples and large ready-roasted chicken.

Sex: Male Age: 22 History: Ex-cop Hobby: Bonsai Ability: Boxing Notes: Slow moving, but produces powerful blows and high flying kicks. Adam's mates describe him as "rock hard".

Sex: Female Age: 21 History: Ex-cop Hobby: Lambada Ability: Judo Notes: Blaze is the most nippy character of the lot and is certainly the most athletic. The problem is her blows aren't that powerful.

Sex: Male Age: 22 History: Ex-cop Hobby: Video games Ability: Martial arts Notes: Axel's faster than Adam and just as powerful, but when it comes to jumping. Axel doesn't produce such an impressive performance.

There are plenty of weapons available in Streets Of Rage. Some of them can be pinched from the enemy sprites while otehrs are found hidden inside the likes of rubbish bins and telephone kiosks. The weapons included in the game include the likes of bottles, aluminium baseball bats, knives and lead pipes!

Should the going get touch, each player has the ability to summon the ESWAT Cyber-Police. They drive up in their flashy motor, produce some heavy artillery and blast the living daylights out of the opposition. In one-player mode, they always use a large bazooka. In two-player mode, the other player can summon a massive scatter bomb bombardment!

The ESWAT connection extends to some of the enemy sprites, blatantly blagged from the coin-op!

Streets Of Rage is the beat-'em-up for Megadrive owners to buy. The action is great, especially with two players on-screen at once! For once, the players act as a team, using each other to produce moves not available in one-player mode.

The graphics are great. The sprites are excellent, and at times the screen is chock-a-block with thugs ready to send you to your doom! The backdrops are similarly detailed, although the scenery on each level could've done with being a bit more varied.

My one substantial gripe is the fact that the game is doesn't present much of a challenge on 'Easy' mode. Gary and I completed the game in two-player without using a single continue! However, put the difficulty on 'Hard' and the action is made all the more enjoyable and challenging.

Beat-'em-up fans should check this out as soon as it hits the street.

Imagine a simultaneous two-player combat game which incorporates features from Final Fight, Double Dragon and Shadow Warriors and you're imagining a game not entirely unlike Streets Of Rage.

It's an excellent beat-'em-up - the best yet seen on the Megadrive - and has eight levels packed to the gills with meaty mateys and gruesome girlies, all waiting to kick the cack out of you.

The going is tough (especially in single-player mode on 'Hard'), but all three characters have a variety of moves to keep them from being overrun by the sheer number of baddies. I particularly like the mega-kick that can only be done when two players work together, and the special weapon is superb!

Presentation 90%
Plenty of decent attract screens make the game look special.

Graphics 94%
Loadsa sprites on-screen at once, with some decent animation and good enough backdrops.

Sound 94%
Techno-dance tracks for each level, and they're some of the best Megadrive tunes ever heard!

Playability 92%
Fist action the likes of which Megadrive owners have never had before!

Lastability 87%
Pretty easy on easy level, but the going gets tougher when you knock that difficulty level up a few notches.

Overall 90%
The greatest and most enjoyable beat-'em-up yet seen on the Megadrive!