Talk about an old game - this was one of the first games to ever appear on the ST all those decades ago. It's a simple linear beat-'em-up where you've got to avoid, jump and thump your way past obstacles and weird creatures while seeking out particular weapons or keys.

This game bears little resemblance to the ST version - it's far, far better. There are too many levels of parallax scrolling to count, and it scrolls and looks extremely attractive indeed. However, all this doesn't save the game from being tedious to the point of brain death.

Linear beat-'em-ups need a lot more than flashy scrolling to save them from an early retirement in the bargain bin at your local computer shop. Shadow Of The Beast doesn't have any of these redeeming features, nasties follow on after each other like tedious arguments and, in the end, you'll simply want to hit the off button and instead watch something exciting on TV like Blockbusters.

Good graphics and sound, but duff gameplay and a boredom rating well off the scale.