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Having played as many computer games as you undoubtedly have, you should by now step naturally into the role of being either a hero or heroine without too much alarm. Even so, you've rarely strapped on pecs as pulsating as those on offer in this latest US Gold Capcom coin-op conversion.

As ever, the size of the heroes' muscular bulk is inversely related to the amount of brain power needed to complete the game, so there's no need to worry about about wasting any time on background here: your macho, muscle-bound hero (whose brains don't quite match his brawn), with the help of a mate, takes on almost unfeasible levels of cannon-fodder along an eight-level route.

Okay, so some of you refuse to sign up until you know the story, so here goes... The former US president has been taken hostage by a group of foreign villains, but, for some diplomatic reason or other, the US government can't intervene directly.

This is where you come in. As head of an elite corps of mercenaries, known as the MERCS, you've been commissioned to rescue the President and halt the rebels' attempt to take control of the country of Zutula. To achieve this, your mission is to land in enemy territory, break through its tank line, neutralise the 'Scorpion' attack unit, penetrate the mountain pass, destroy the enemy’s supply line and - finally - 'neutralise' the enemy’s HQ.

Feel better for knowing that? Good - now get out there and get blasting...

Two-player 'Commando-style' shoot-'em-ups are always big hits in the arcades: all they have to do is offer enough opposition soldiers and hardware to attack in force and a few new weapons to wipe them out with and the coins come rolling in.

Mercs is, as you'd expect, no exception - but we're not here to heap praise on the arcade game (although it is very good indeed!), we're here to see how good the conversion is. And basically, the answer is that it's good(ish). Conversions should be judged in two ways: as re-creations of the original or as playable games in their own right (or maybe even as a mixture of both) - Mercs almost hits the mark in both cases. There's little problem looks-wise, all of the sprites and backgrounds are well executed, although the main characters move a little too jerkily for comfort.

The problem's certainly not in the soundtrack either: the groovy music gets you straight into the swing of things, while the massive explosions and great cross-fire sounds all add to the excitement.

The problem is that the whole thing just doesn't capture the 'feel' or excitement of the coin-op - there are too many instances where the action slows down (very bad news nowadays) or where the nature of your opposition is too indistinct, making the proceedings more confusing than exciting.

The two-player option does, however, pull the game up by its bootstraps. Having to choose whether or not you pick up the extra weapon or leave it for your partner adds an extra dimension (every man for himself, and all that!), while two heads are better than one in terms of getting further into the game.

Ardent fans of the coin-op will have no problem getting into this one - others will probably only bother if they have a friend around.