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Well, it's original, I can safely say that much two-player Punch Out, first-person perspective and split-screen. Not a bad idea but the question on everybody's lips is, does it work?

Play either one-player against a series of opponents of increasing difficulty in a bad to win the title, or two-player with no aim other than to knock the socks off your opponent.

Before the fight, you have to build a boxer. This is done by using a number of slide markers, each representing a different balance. You can decide between left and right stances, a hand with the most punching power, best punch (body or head), and balance out between speed of punch and power and choose your boxer's weakness. Once you've created your boxer and called him a suitable hard man tough guy name like Tony, Eugene or Cecil, it's into the ring you go...

The screen is set up into a number of windows. On the left hand side of the screen are two large ones (phwurr!). Each is a boxer's eye view of the other boy as he (yes, it it a he, I'm not being sexist!) bobs and weaves around the ring, more often than not taking pot shots at your head.

Controls are fairly simple - up and down raise and lower your boxer's arms, effectively raising and lowering his guard as well as selecting between body and head punches. Left and right select between left and right hands and fire takes a swing. Get a hit, and your enemy's head rolls back with pain.

To win with style is to win a knockout, and to get a knockout, you have to completely eradicate your opponent's energy level by laying on blow after blow in quick succession. This is a very, very hard thing to do - nearly every punch you throw, provided you throw punch after punch without stopping has to hit with maximum power and accuracy. The only other way you can win is to win by points, getting in more successful punches from him each round.

The graphics are quite nice. Large and colourful, the way the boxer's hand grows to huge proportions and then receeds to give the impression of punching out of the screen works really well. When you knock down a man, you get a short scene of that player on the floor, desperately trying to climb the ropes while the referee looks on. This looks like a digitised shot that's been coloured in.

So, back to the opening question, does it work? It's a new twist on an old theme, and granted, it plays quite nicely. The problem is, the novelty wears off too quickly and you are left with an essentially boring game. The gameplay dies within the first round and any feelings of 'one more go' are begging for mercy inside of three. Not a T.K.O. for Accolade. In fact, I don't think they've managed to get through the ropes.