Why are superheroes always so big, butch and beefy? Why can't there be the odd weedy wimp or three to even things out a bit? If you've ever wondered what it's like to be brave and fearless, with nerves of steel and muscles popping out of your polo neck, then Domark are ready and waiting to tickle your palate with a quick-witted quartet, a box of booty to be sure! Yes, believe it or not, for superheroes for the price of one!

In Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (72%, Issue 55) you control the hat-wearing hunk himself, complete with stubble aplenty and one well-wicked punch. In the first of four varied levels, Indy searches maze-like caverns for the legendary Cross of Coronado. There's a whole series of perilous obstacles and nasties. Indy swings from ropes, dodges falling stalactites, avoids deadly water traps and whips gun-toting baddies. If it starts getting dark down below, there are torches to collect.

Once the Cross is in his huge, sweaty hands, Indy finds his way out of the caves and races over the top of a passing train! Not a British Rail type affair, that's for sure. This one's a circus train packed with rhinos, giraffes and the like who insist on sticking their heads out of the carriages.

Level Two takes Indy deep within the catacombs, in search of the Crusader's Shield. Only a true superhero is able to do battle with man-eating rats, race through flame-filled tunnels and avoid flashes of lightning.

Onto Level Three, an airship, trying to locate the Grail Diary that Indy's father lost there. The Nazis are after him now, but by collecting the various passes lying around he can quietly tiptoe past alarms without setting them off.

The final level takes place in the Grail Temple. Dr. Jones Snr has been shot. If his son doesn't get the Grail to him in time, he'll pop his clogs! Time is tight in this scrolling Metrocross-style level, with bottomless pits, crumbling tiles and razor-sharp blades to negotiate.

Last Crusade isn't a bad game. The graphics and overall backgrounds are quite atmospheric and Indy himself is well animated. The train sequence is a bit of fun and I like the swaying effect on the airship, made me quite queasy! Sound is weak, with spot FX and a fair rendition of the Indiana Jones theme tune. Play is fairly fast, although I would have liked to have seen more baddies dotted around the place.

However, with four levels addictivity remains quite high and the game isn't one that you're likely to complete in the blink of an eye.

The Spy Who Loved Me (38%, Issue 69) puts you into the shoes of James Bond 007. With his gorgeous Soviet sidekick, Anya Amasova, he's out to stop the mad villain Karl Stromberg, who's stolen two nuclear submarines.

Scene One sees the dynamic duo in Bond's Q-mobile, the Lotus, racing down vertically scrolling roads, avoiding rocks, pedestrians, patches of water and other vehicles. Q-tiles are collected to later exchange for valuable weapons.

As if by magic, the Lotus transforms into a speedboat halfway through the level. It's now a case of avoiding the jetties and piers and bombing or firing at a swarm of enemy boats.

Back on the road again, this time dodging armoured vehicles and helicopters. Fortunately, Mr. Bond has his Q-van at the ready. Inside, Q-tiles can be exchanged for such things as smoke screens and lasers. 007 must ensure he gets the submersible upgrade, then he can dive off a pier and battle it out with divers and subs on his way to Karly-babe's lair. One last watery section as everyone's favourite agent pursues the enemy on a wetbike, with plenty of boats and ships to slow him down.

The Spy Who Loved Me is incredibly old hat and terribly run-of-the-mill. It's substandard in every department. The graphics are dull and lifeless, with hardly any detail at all, the scrolling is jerky and a wee bit slow for my liking. Sound is feeble, with a poor rendition of the Bond theme and gameplay is both boring and repetitive, with the very similar levels.

Strider II (66%, Issue 69) is Tiertex's own sequel to the coin-op. The athletic Strider must rescue the female leader of the planet Magenta, who's been taken hostage by a band of aliens.

So sure that Stridey can get her back again, the Magentans have given him a Gyro laser and a matter converter, which changes our friend into an armoured robot if the going gets tough.

Strider cartwheels his way through five multi-directionally scrolling levels of the planet: the forest, city ruins, an underground world and then al fresco again, cavorting over rooftops on his way to the alien ship.

There are sentry robots, deadly birds, alien hatchings, energy-discharging skulls etc to biff, or dodge by climbing walls, ropes and chains.

At the end of each level there's a huge nasty to do away with. This is where Strider changes into the robot, its strength determined by the number of energy icons collected earlier.

Oh dear, two out of three so far that I haven't liked! Strider II isn't that exciting. I'm a little tired of the "run here, there and everywhere, shooting and exploring" type game. Strider II offers little else to keep you engrossed. The graphics lack colour and look somewhat dated. However, the main sprite moves fairly fast, as do the others, and Strider's somersaults are well animated. The end-of-level baddies make for a tough battle - especially as your robot is totally useless - and indeed the game itself is a little difficult overall. Any game with such a high frustration level gets the thumbs down from me.

I've definitely left the best game 'til last: the classic Last Ninja II (94%, Issue 41). The Ninja Gods aren't too happy with the evil Shogun, Kunitoki. Defeated during a great battle he escaped death courtesy of the spirits of the underworld. They supplied him with an orb which transported him to 20th-century New York. Here he discovered he could use his orb to brainwash all and take over the city.

The Gods send the Last Ninja to The Big Apple to thwart Kunitoki's plans. Our hero starts his journey in Central Park, coming across muggers, knife-wielding jugglers and angry coppers, defeated with a few crafty martial arts moves. Energy is drained by each blow: both Ninja and his opponent's energy levels are shown by reducing spirals.

Level Two has old Ninjy hunting the streets, swatting more police and dodging bikers. The third level takes place deep under the city. There are rats everywhere to be squashed!

Now, inside a drug factory, Kunitoki's henchmen decide to do a runner and once the office secretaries have been dealt with, there's just time to grab hold of the helicopter and fly to the Shogun's secret island base. He's hiding in a temple full of baddies. That orb just has to be retrieved.

Last Ninja II appeared at the end of 1988 and still looks and plays as good today as it did then. The isometric 3D backgrounds are incredible, the main sprite is beautifully animated, the sound is excellent and overall presentation is simply stunning. The game combines an arcade adventure element with that of a beat-'em-up - fans of either will enjoy this for sure. The puzzles are great, there's always something out there to tax your brain.

Controls are a little difficult to master during combat, but once you've got the hang of them, there'll be no stopping ya! Last Ninja II puts some of the games around at the moment to shame.

Unfortunately, you don't buy a compilation set for the sake of one decent game and, if you purchase Superheroes, that's about all you'll get. Last Ninja II outshines the other games by far.