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I never thought that the members of the ACE staff would come to blows, but things came dangerously close to reaching a violent flashpoint this month when this cartridge slipped innocently into the office. With the original 16-bit versions of Prince Of Persia being one of ACE's personal all-time favourite games, the arrival of this Gameboy version inevitably led to a nasty scuffle over who got first go.

Anybody who may have been worried about a handheld version of Broderbund's platform classic being cut-down or compromised in any way in this handheld interpretation can at last breathe easily, as Gameboy Prince Of Persia is almost identical to the computer versions. All the levels are there, all the music, the special potions, the sword-fighting, the traps... bar a few graphical differences (the skeletons now appear as eerie translucent images of the evil Jafar, for instance) it's got the lot. The convertors have done a fine job of translating the complex control method, with the player able to perform all the nail-biting acrobatics with the minimum of fuss. The only small gripe is with the sword-fighting, which isn't as fluid as instinctive as in the original.

What's most surprising is that, on the whole, the game is every bit as playable and nerve-racking on this tiny screen with these slightly more crudely-defined graphics as it ever was. Experienced players will soon feel that old "Prince magic" flooding back, which just goes to show how well the game's superb playability and feel have been captured. I'll make no bones about it - I still think Prince is the best arcade adventure on any computer, and now it's the best on the GameBoy too. So go get it.

With all of the original's 12 levels (the latter of which are right devious) and a handy password system, Prince's lastability factor is top notch.

Because the game works on a time system instead of lives, it never gets too frustrating, instead spurring the player on to have another go. Some players may get a bit annoyed by some of the later levels which are really very hard, but toughened gamers will no doubt lap up the challenge on offer here. Superb.

1. Original's superb feel has been captured perfectly.
2. Excellent music score.
3. Handy password system.

1. Sword-fighting doesn't work very well.