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Once upon a time, director Joe Dante made an unassuming little film called Gremlins. The extreme black humour which pervaded the film made it a runaway success, appealing to all ages. Unsurprisingly, Hollywood cash registers started quivering with anticipation of a sequel. Gremlins 2 takes off where Gizmo and the crew left off and the game of the film closely follows the film's plot.

The main action takes place in a huge skyscraper which contains shops, restaurants, apartments, a cable TV network and all manner of companies. Near the top of the building is a genetic laboratory called "Splice of Life". Gizmo is taken here when his old Chinese owner snuffs it under velly suspicious circumstances. The human stars of Gremlins work in the same skyscraper and thus the old team is fortuitously reassembled for a little collective mayhem.

Gremlins 2 is a simple flip-screen beat-'em-up. You control Billy, the human star of the film, who must destroy all the smelly, rotten Gremlins who've taken over the skyscraper. You do this by assembling a nifty piece of apparatus which shines sunlight on all the Gremlins at once (and Gremlins hate light). Initially your weapon is a torch but along the way you can pick up fruit, frisbees and three-way torches. Occasionally Gizmo appears and gives you a power-up, though sometimes these weapons are more of a hindrance than a help.

Each of the main Gremlins from the film appears in the game. These include Daffy, Mohawk, Electric George, Sexygirl, Lenny, Pogo and Skateboard. Each has its own way of attacking you. For example, Daffy rolls up into a ball and hurls himself along the floor, George drops cigar ash on you and Sexygirl blows deadly kisses.

Initially Gremlins 2 looks promising. A well-drawn piccy of Gizmo peering out of a drawer on the title screen is certainly an attention-grabber. When you get into the game itself the sprites are colourful, well drawn and smoothly animated. The backdrops are bright, and smooth scrolling isn't a problem because of the flip-screen gameplay. Sound includes some clear spot samples.

While Gremlins 2 won't win any prizes for originality, children will love the theme and it won't get completed in two days. The game is hard; to complete a level you need to know where and when one of the Gremlins is going to pop up out of the scenery. It's nothing special but quite appealing nonetheless.