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It's the last day of schedule, but we can't miss this conversion of last month's C64 Gold Medal winner. The story obviously remains the same, the planet Landorin has been invaded by the massed forces of The Machine. Turrican answers an SOS and is soon knee-deep in attack robots.

This massive battle takes place over five worlds, each with two levels (apart from worlds two and three which have three levels). The basic game consists of multi-directionally scrolling arcade baddies to take on, dozens of different types according to the world, and two mega-monsters on most levels. Finding the level exit is the main aim, but dozens of diamonds can be found and if they're all collected, continue-plays can be earned.

Beside his basic laser, Turrican can hold down fire to create a lethal beam which can be swung around in a 360 degree arc. Pressing 'space' activates a smart bomb, while holding down fire at the same time unleashes a mega-smart bomb. Turrican can also transform into a whirling gyroscope which is useful for getting through small gaps. As you explore, extra lives and all sorts of weapons upgrades can be found, including three-way fire, bouncing balls, extra smart bombs, extra energy and so on.

For the three levels of World Three, Turrican climbs into a spaceship for some spectacular shoot-'em-up action. Level 3.1 is a simplistic horizontally-scrolling blast-'em-up, 3.2 mixes in vertical scrolling while 3.3 is a high velocity test of reactions!

Now this is really something!! As he mentioned in the recent interview, Manfred's inspiration for his games has been the coin-ops and with Turrican II, he's gone and brought us an arcade machine and more!

The feel, the look, the whole shebang is so slick. And just so we don't get too familiar with the Turrican I-style gameplay, he's thrown in one of the fastest horizontally scrolling, Vulcan Venture-style shoot-'em-ups around. Nemesis fans will love it as this is as close to the coin-ops as any computer has ever come, superbly equalling the PC Engine for authentic Japanese coin-op action (dig that music on the shoot-'em-up sections).

The challenge is formidable and mappers are going to have a whale of a time with this beauty. As I said last issue with regard to the C64 version, I don't think Turrican II is as stunning in its originality as the first game, and that applies to its 16-bit incarnation. That doesn't stop it from being a blast-and-a-half on a massive scale - the three-screen-high batrobot thing still looks good and the wind effect on level one is great. 16-bit enhancements include the attractive backdrop colour scheme, the excellent music changing to suit the situation and some sampled speech.

None of this sounds too out of the ordinary for an Amiga but the way it all comes together makes this a far from ordinary release.

Turrican II further emphasizes the gulf between the potential of original games and the clapped-out ideas of so many rushed coin-op conversions.

1,500 screens, five distinct graphic styles, three horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up levels, one vertically scrolling blast-'em-up and masses of imaginative baddies add up to unbelievable value for money.

Much harder than the original, Turrican II makes excellent use of the Amiga and is likely to appear on the Sega Megadrive completely unchanged. The graphics are full of neat touches and the varied soundtrack provides supebr musical accompaniment.

A classic arcade adventure.

Presentation 92%
Superlative intro and end-game sequences, earned continue-plays, fast multi-loading.

Graphics 92%
Five distinctly different worlds, imaginative baddies and numerous mega-monsters all exploiting the Amiga's palette. Plus some ultra-rapid scrolling.

Sound 94%
A variety of coin-op-style tunes, often altering according to what's happening in the game, plus sampled speech for pick-ups.

Hookability 91%
Easy to get into, with plenty to see and do on level one.

Lastability 94%
A massive task, packed with variety and challenge.

Overall 93%
Awesome.