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Another dose of Oriental combat as you take on the warlock and his evil cronies.

Ah so! Loosen up your shurikan throwing arm and get ready to take on the evil warlock in another round of Oriental combat, this time from Activision.

Much as the idea of jumping, throwing, slashing and general dealing of death in an eastern fashion appeals, there must be a limit to the number of scenarios and titles with the name ninja in them - or maybe not.

Ninja Spirit will have you jumping, throwing, etc, etc... over six levels, against the evil ninja hordes of the warlock, and they are no duffers with the old samurai swords either.

There are four different types of weapon to choose from as you start off on your quest, ranging from the trusty sword, through Shurikans, to what look like throwing hammers, but for swift killing and sure satisfaction, the throwing stars are hard to beat. Doing away with the baddies will afford you a tasty bundle of power ups, doubling your strength and giving you an extra ninja spirit to ease your passage to the next level. Considering the sheer numbers of the enemy thrown at you, you will need all the help you can get.

Making sure you have your bonus spirit as you reach the end of level guardians is also a smart move - they are certainly no mean challenge. If a stray sword cuts you off in your prime, you lose all of the power ups you have gained, so be warned.

Scrolling on the first four levels is horizontal and fairly smooth, with good graphics. The fifth level sees your spi rit jumping from ramp to ramp up a vertical cliff face, and keeping your balance whilst dealing with the baddies can cause a few problems for the novice ninja.

On your way to meeting with the warlock himself on the final level, you have to perform the same in reverse, jumping off of the cliff and moving around to tackle the ninjas as they approach you from below, very nasty indeed.

As far as it goes, Ninja Spirit is harmless fun, and fairly playable with some nice sound effects thrown in for good measure, but it certainly won't captivate for hours.

For 464 owners, the loading sequence is a little longwinded, so it may be worthwhile waiting for Ninja Spirit to come out in a compilation before rushing to the shops and parting with your hard earned cash on yet another oriental offering.