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Double Dragon fans have been more than short-changed in the past by the conversions of the previous two Double Dragon coin-ops, so it comes as some relief to be able to say that this - the third instalment of the on-going fisticuff escapades of Jimmy and Billy Lee - is, despite a couple of reservations, pretty much what devotees have been waiting for.

The plot is confused to say the least. According to who you listen to, it's either the usual girly rescue mission, or a quest for treasure, or a fight against the 'Ultimate Evil'. No matter - the mechanics remains the same. Jimmy and Billy Lee (aka players one and two) have to fump and crump their way through fourteen levels of action set in five exotic locations (and as the game progresses you'll discover 'exotic' is an understatement).

Players start the game with fifteen 'coins', and in the shops found en route the player can buy extra lives, weapons, power-ups and even some fancy new fighting moves. It's a shame you can't just find weapons along the way, but this coins business does at least add a game-enhancing strategy element, because the player has to decide how best to spend his cash.

While some may find the gameplay dated and repetitive (a complaint, to be fair, that could be made about most games of this type), those eponymous 'fans of the genre' should be revelling in one of the more exciting and certainly the slickest slices of beat-'em-up action around. And, for my money, it's far better than Final Fight.