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Big trouble in fantasy land. There's this 'orrible oik called Death-Adder who's squishing people and not even apologising for it. However, one day he does the Shake 'n Vac on your best mate Alex's head. Being a New-Age, caring kind of person, you swear to avenge him. Your quest covers lands peopled with more strange creatures than you'd find at a plastic tie-wrap convention.

Golden Axe is a pure beat-'em-up. You control one of three characters: Axe Battler the Barbarian, Tyris Flare the Amazon or Gilius Thunderhead the Dwarf. Each warrior has his or her own way of fighting and a special weapon. The Barbarian has a large broad-sword, the Amazon a ninja type sword and the Dwarf a large axe. Speeds vary, so that while the Barbarian is very strong he is not as quick as the Amazon.

The game is played over a series of landscapes on the road to Death-Adder's castle, consisting of towns, knackered bridges and chasms. Set battles occur every few yards and there are fantasy motorway cafes for some magical or physical sustenance (like some enchanted sausage rolls).

You can choose simultaneous two player games from the title screen, enabling you to combine two different character types or two of the same. This is recommended because your hit strength is doubled but not the number of your enemies. Occasionally, kicking shifty little goblins up the bum persuades them to drop a magic potion, which you can use on particularly vicious opponents; the greater the number of potions, the more powerful the spell you can cast.

Each assailant has his or her own brand of fighting. Tactics range from simple rushing to such subtleties as clumping you with a heavy implement. Some are as thick as Siberian yoghurt, others as hard as Siberian cheese.

Animation is well executed, with good colour. Each character has a set repertoire of movements, with the result that fights are fluid encounters rather than static affairs. Sound is well up to par and includes some tasty sampled thuds and screams.

Golden Axe is a tremendously sophisticated game, but this sophistication is used to improve gameplay rather than slow it down. The set moves each character carries out look excellent, although they become a bit repetitive eventually. The weighting of the game is well thought out, with the action getting progressively harder the nearer you get to Death-Adder. Jumping is the main problem with the game; it's just too difficult when you need it most.

Golden Axe is a fluid beat-'em-up and one of the most playable games of this genre to emerge since Strider.