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There's nothing better than the promise of a quick dose of pixilated blood 'n guts to get 20ps pouring into a coin-op faster than news of a lost rattlesnake gets fingers out of a lucky-dip. So it comes as no surprise that the brutal, bloody and downright awesome coin-op Pit-Fighter has soon become Atari's quickest ever money-spinner.

The coin-op's most immediate attraction is the use of digitised images of real fighters to represent the central characters. There's something sinister about seeing real people getting pummelled, instead of the usual cartoon-style graphics. The atmosphere of menace gets even darker when you take a look at the scenery. It's not a pit, exactly - more of a rundown warehouse affair. But the jeering crowd and the abundance of blunt objects lying around all combine to make it a place you would definitely not take your granny to for a nice evening out.

No, these guys are for real. They're not fighting for honour, king or country. They're not even fighting for a snog off a particularly saucy girlie. They fight for cash and they fight dirty. End of story.

OK, so you're still feeling up to it? Good. Now you'll be wondering how your C64 manages to emulate a 5,000 coin-op chocked to the gills with state-of-the-art visual technology. Well, it doesn't really. You're left with what can only be described as a sad, shambling mockery of the coin-op's original visuals. C'est la vie. But that doesn't necessarily mean the game underneath's no good.

There are eight different warriors waiting to take you on. You can play the part of one of three diferent characters - a kickboxer, a wrestler or a karate champ. Two players can take on the opposition simultaneously and, with sixteen different moves to master, the help certainly comes in useful when you're still learning the ropes. There's more to this game than first meets the eye.

But is it worth the money? If you were to look at Pit-Fighter as merely a faithful coin-op conversion, then you'd have to conclude that it's really a bit of a dud. The coin-op was never intended to provide anyone with long-term value for money, and merely relied upon the groovy graphics to get those 20ps clunking in. With the graphics gone, the C64 version really has nothing to say for it at all.

Well, that's not completely fair. Treat Pit-Fighter as a straightforward beat-'em-up, forgetting the game's roots, and it ain't bad! You'll find an entertaining challenge well worth consideration for Christmas.

1. The coin-op's amazing visuals have been lost in the conversion.
2. Nothing else has been added.
3. Absence of any plot could restrict long-term interest.
4. Uninspiring sound effects.

1. Lots of bad baddies.
2. Loads of moves to practise and master.
3. Two-player option really adds an extra dimension to the gameplay.
4. Solid beat-'em-up action.
5. Three different characters to play, with individual strengths and weaknesses.
6. Faithfully reproduces the parent coin-op as well as could have been expected.
7. Great tension reliever!