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A new terror has arisen to threaten the peaceful kingdom once protected by the three warriors Gilius Thunderhead, Ax Battler and Tyris Flare. The maniacal Dark Guld and his legions of doom are advancing to conquer the land and destroy its inhabitants. All looks grim for the world until the heroes come out of retirement and agree to once more risk their lives, defeat the new evil and make the world a safer place.

Like its predecessor, Golden Axe II is a horizontally scrolling beat-'em-up, boasting exciting moves, such as the rear somersault slash, new improved magic and a host of monstrous new opponents to slay. The action is spread over six levels, with an awesome guardian at the end of each.

Can you (and a friend if you choose to battle simultaneously) beat the baddies and save the day?

1. Amazon: The Amazon Tyris Flare is fantastic when it comes to utilizing her Fire magic, even going to the extent of summoning a huge dragon, which makes her useful when up against guardians, although her swordplay is poor.

2. Dwarf Gilius Thunderhead is the swarthy dwarf with the enormous chopper. His axe skills mean that he makes short work of most enemies, although when it comes to magic, his earth powers just can't cut the mustard.

3. Warrior This muscle-bound Barbarian warrior goes under the civilised name of Ax Battler. He's just as nifty with his Hurricane magic as he is with his huge longsword, which makes him the best all-round choice.

The characters from Golden Axe have obviously been practising their magic since their first adventure. This means that even level one magic is far more impressive. Good job too, because the benevolent pixies from the original game have disappeared, and been replaced by evil magicians who require a sound thrashing before they give up their prized magical books!

Death Adder's minions were positively cheerful when compared with the thralls of Dark Guld. Amongst his terrifying horde are trolls, warriors with razors for hands, minotaurs, headless knights and lizard men. These monstrosities arrive in copious quantities and most require repeated doses of sword action before buying the farm and pushing up daisies.

Those dinosaurs are back, and this time they've brought some of their mates. The original fire-breathing dinos are gone, but they're replaced by some new breeds, such as the double tail whipper, which flails its appendage in all directions in the hope of catching two enemies unawares, and a new flame-breather which projects a line of fire straight in front of its face.

As a big fan of the original, I can only express my disappointment at this sequel. All the programmers have done is altered the graphics, changed the magic spells and given each player a new special move (none of which are any good).

Otherwise it's exactly the same as the orignal. The gameplay's basically identical, the dinosaurs are all very similar, the music is worse,the baddies are killed using exactly the same tactics, the map layouts are surprisingly similar, and, to cap it all, it's not even as challenging as the original. I finished it on my first go!

If you already own Golden Axe, Golden Axe II simply doesn't offer enough challenge or new features to be worth buying, and if you don't, but the original game instead - it's far more fun.

Despite all the improvements made in Golden Axe II, it somehow isn't as enjoyable as the original. For one thing it lacks atmosphere, there's no real sense of involvement. The graphics are a mixed bag, really, with some excellent sprites but some surprisingly poor backgrounds.

The sound is also disappointing, with few decent effects and weedy tunes accompanying the action.

If you haven't got the original, I suppose Golden Axe II might be a worthwhile purchase. But to be honest, the original game is of a more consistent quality, is more challenging and is ultimately a lot more fun.

Presentation 87%
Choice of characters, controls and levels. Impressive attract screens and animated storyline.

Graphics 77%
Great sprites and magic, but some pitiful backgrounds.

Sound 67%
None too good. Weak effects and plain tunes don't help enhance the atmosphere.

Playability 75%
Golden Axe fans will find this very easy to get into - in fact, way too easy!

Lastability 56%
It's not very challenging, and even Golden Axe novices should be able to get all the way through it within a few sessions.

Overall 69%
A disappointing sequel which lacks new ideas and challenge, and is just too similar to the original to be really worthwhile.