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When all is said and done, there are not many computer games that don't tend towards brutality and violence at some point, even though many try to veil this trend behind fancy scenarios and outstanding graphics.

What we have here, however, is a little offering that doesn't even bother to wash its hands for supper, after knocking somebody's block off that is.

For sheer, out and out intention to do damage, you won't get much better, or should I say worse, than Pit-Fighter. Taking your pick from three very different specialist street fighters, your task is to out-punch, kick, wrestle and chop your way through seven different fights, before you get the chance to come up against the shady Ultimate Warrior.

The three fighters on offer are Ty, a champion kickboxer, whose feet are lethal and are well worth keeping at a distance, Kato, who's black belt karate skills should provide you with a fairly formidable defence and, finally, Buzz, an ex pro-wrestler who sees his way through duels using sheer brute force.

Get used to the controls and make sure you have studied each fighters' speciality moves to get the best effects, then get into the pit to take on the likes of The Executioner, Heavy Metal and Chain Saw Eddy.

Fights are won on KO points, so your main aim is simply to knock hell out of your opponent and make sure that you are still standing at the end of the duel.

Every third round, you get to face a grudge match, which means facing your partner if you are playing in two player mode, or a computer clone of yourself if you entered the arena alone.

At all times, look out for objects strewn around the floor, such as chests, barrels and sticks, which you can throw at your opponent to weaken him. Power Pills are also very handy if you manage to locate them.

At the end of each round, your points are awarded, depending on how many rounds you lasted, the number of knock-outs you dealt out and, can you believe this, how brutal you were.

If you're into this kind of thing, then no doubt you'll already be champing at the bit to go out and buy Pit-Fighter. OK, so it's only a bit of fun on the computer but, since the graphics aren't the best in the world and the sound effects won't win mega-prizes on the 8-bit machines, you may be better off looking elsewhere to get your kicks.

On the 16-bit formats, Pit-Fighter looks a treat, whereas the jerky scrolling and delayed actions of the 8-bit release make this one something only for ardent fans of blood sports.