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Samurai Warrior is a bit like a violent version of Watership Down, set in 17th century feudal Japan. The main character is a rabbit called Myamoto Usagi - Usagi Yojimbo to his friends. Usagi must rescue his old friend Lord Noriyuki (a panda) before he is killed by Lord Hikji, probably a pig, but I'm only guessing.

Usagi's journey begins at the far left of the screen and he continues westwards as far as he can go. The beautiful scenery of feudal Japan scrolls by behind him as he sets about his search for his panda pal. Usagi is a Samurai, and this means that as well as killing people he takes a dislike to, he must also observe the Japanese rules of etiquette and bow to the right people - if you're not going to kill someone, where's the harm in being polite?

Usagi operates in two modes: peaceful mode, and the one where he waves a sword around. Generally speaking, it pays to walk around in peaceful mode and draw your sword only when things look bad. Otherwise people will get the wrong idea and attack you before you have the chance to shout, "hang on a minute - I was only cleaning it!"

So the idea is that you walk around being nice and peaceful, waiting for things to happen. The first thing that happens isn't tremendously exciting - a peasant bows, being polite, you bow back and move on your way. Things quickly hot up though, and before you know it ninjas are jumping out of trees all over the place. Once Usagi unsheathes his sword he is in battle mode, which means he can do all the usual acrobatic stuff - leaping forwards and backwards, changing with sword upraised and so on.

Using the sword itself is very straightforward and there is a practice mode if you need to sharpen your skills. Split second timing on the fire button is required. A quick jab on the button produces a parry, hold for a fraction and you get a side-swipe, a slightly longer delay prior to release will give you an impressive overhead cut. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it.

In traditional samurai style, every time you take a hit the energy meter goes down a few notches. Opponents have an energy meter too, but fortunately they usually start off with fewer notches than you. Even so, it's essential to finish off the ninja speedily at it may be some time before you can eat and restore your strength - more difficult battles lie ahead.

It's not all ninjas jumping out of trees. Other, friendly passersby can give you inscrutable bits of information like "the first and the last, are they not the same?" More useful is "there are ninja hiding in the woods" though I'm not sure about "if you see the buddha on the path, kill him," as I never saw him.

Don't be tempted to chop the head off a friendly stranger or passing priest just for the hell of it. Such acts of violence will do your karma no good whatsoever. It starts off at a pretty low level anyhow, although you can increase it by killing villains and generally being nice to people. Should it drop below zero, there is only one honourable way out - hari kiri.

If you make it beyond the first level, which culminates with a fearful dragon, you get the chance to go into town for some nosh. Once refreshed, you can continue on your travels and encounter more adversaries including other rabbits, pigs and all manner of wildlife.

Samurai Warrior is a leap forward from last year's bunch of Oriental beat-'em-ups. Combat animation is the best I've seen, with Oriental music as well as sound effects to match. There's much more to it than learning sixteen different joystick movements by heart.