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So here it is - the action movie to end all action movies; the action game to end all action ga- Erm... well, not quite. You must have seen the film by now. If you haven't, do. It really is, to paraphrase Saddam H, the mother and father of all special effects movies. In it you will see things you have never seen before - which is more than can be said for the game. As with most movie tie-ins, Terminator 2 is a multiload, multilevel affair, and so before we go any further, may I suggest that you buy the cartridge version, because that's the way this game was designed to be played.

There are nine levels, including two slidey-tile bonus rounds, representing major lumps of plot. The bulk of the game is based around a rather nifty IK-style beat-'em-up routine featuring stonky great figures (so if you don't like beat-'em-ups, hasta la vista, baby). In these you play Arnie fighting the T1000, Arnie fighting the T1000 again, and a skeletonised Arnie fighting, well, the T1000. Again.

There are also two levels which use a sideways-scrolling run around, set over several floors. In the first, Sarah Connor attempts to flee the loony bin in which she has been incarcerated for the last few years, followed later by a similar scene in which Arnie blasts through SWAT teamsters in the Cyberdyne lab.

And, finally, we have two rather nice vertical scrollers: Arnie and John trying to outrun a ruddy great Mack truck, and a swerving SWAT van combatting a T1000-pilotted helicopter.

All nine levels are very nicely put together with tidy graphics, flicker free characters on the beat-'em-up sections, and (with the exception of a nasty timing glitch on levels four and seven) slicker-'n-snot coding.

However, I'm still disappointed. Why? Well, for one thing, there's nothing here to get excited about. The movie boasts more innovative ideas and stunning visuals than anything else on the planet, and we get a game put together with tried and trusted gameplay. Nice and safe, nothing too risky: a bit of Total Recall here, a hint of Batman there, and those flippin' tile-sliding puzzle sections. Please, Ocean, stop using them. They're pretty and nicely coded, sure, but they are terminally dull (no pun intended).

The highlights of Terminator 2 are the vertical scrollers - especially the helicopter vs SWAT van routine - which have at least had a little bit of thought lavished on them. Also included are the inbetweeny plot screens and intro sequence which are simply stunning. Sound too is used to a premium, with a nice pseudo-T2 soundtrack (presumably they couldn't get the rights to the proper theme) and crunchy sound effects.

On the gameplay side, my one major worry is that it's a very tough little game. Each level is linked to the next, so energy remaining from level one is carried over to level two and so on. The tile-sliders offer you a chance to you recoup lost energy, but if you can't do them, you're in trouble.

Also, with only one life, you're going to be playing that first beat-'em-up section an awful lot of times. Every hit the T1000 gets on you makes your chances of finishing level two that bit slimmer. This can prove very frustrating, knowing that you're not going to finish the next stage when you haven't yet completed this one!

So there it is. Smooth, smart and playable - but nothing to really get excited about.

1. Nothing really new or original.
2. Nine levels, only three game styles (not counting the crappy tile puzzles).
3. High difficulty level is off-putting.
4. Annoyingly limited gameplay.

1. Beautifully coded and nice to look at.
2. Intro sequence and in-between graphics are very welcome indeed.
3. Sound is of a typically high Ocean standard.
4. And ditto for the sprites - the massive beat-'em-up uppers are gorgeous.
5. Nine tough levels should keep you battling away.
6. Just enough variety in gameplay and visuals.