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In the backstreets of a chaotic American city you have yet another chance to save the world from impending disaster. While most people are safely locked up at home, you, the Shadow Warrior, last in a line of legendary combatants are out doing your bit for American peace and justice.

This time the enemy is a possessed Oriental demon who has summoned a squad of ghoulish assassins to wreak havoc on innocent people. Oriental Combat is a well tested format, however the hero can perform five death-defying feats: the Triple Blow Combination, the Flying Neck Throw, the Hang Kick, the Phoenic Backflip and the Tightrope technique!

Unfortunately, how one actually performs these manoeuvres is not given in the instructions, but after a few games and a bit of luck you'll be swinging from a signpost, then somersaulting on top of a building before despatching another baddie.

It takes several blows to knock an assassin out and even more to keep him down. Each level brings you up against meaner and larger thugs, and at the end of each level you meet 'The Guardians', who are even meaner and bigger. There are six levels in all, each different, but all depicting twentieth century America at its most violent. Naturally, you meet the 'evil Demon' at the end who is the meanest dude of them all.

Scrolling is horizontal with reasonably smooth and colourful graphics. However, one frustrating aspect of the game is the fact that whoever gets the first punch in usually wins the combat, and it is almost impossible to do anything when two of them start roughing you up. Ocean have given a warning not to let two of the assassins get on either side of you, but this is much easier said than done. The best way of dealing with thugs is to shut your eyes, hold down the Fire button and let the 'force' flow through you.

Along the way you can pick up various unimaginative objects from a small ruby to a large ruby, or a red pill to a blue pill! You may even be lucky enough to find a sword hidden in a trash can or telephone booth. However, the sword does just as much damage as your fists against the fatter thugs - not a lot!

Shadow Warriors is all right for those of you who are looking for some mindless thuggery Oriental-style.