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What can I say? The graphics are similar, the sound is similar, the plot is too and so are the puzzles! Ninja 2, Ninja 1 - what's the difference? Two things: the name and the place. The bloke in the black suit meets the suits of New York plus the cops and the rough and tumble of the underworld, along with drugs, credit cards and computers.

Strangely, some drunken fool has left a bunch of shrunken stars lying about in Central Park and these can be collected and used to persuade pushy cops to step down (or lie down!).

The game is structured as six levels, each with its own map and graphics in much the same way as The Last Ninja. It doesn't take too long to familiarise yourself with an area but not too quickly either - just right. The most serious problem is the lack of a 'save game' option. When you're trying to master the final level it is tedious to have to work through the first five.

The diagonal layout of each screen has survived the journey to the Big Apple but so has the crooked walk the Ninja seems to have in some places. The sequel is neither better nor worse than its predecessor.

This makes it one of the most unoriginal games, which is probably why it will sell well! If you thought The Last Ninja was good, this takes a good thing further - in the same direction, but who cares?

Sam Greenhill