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Some time back, a game was released into the arcade which was addictive, fast and fun. This game was Shao-Lins Road.

Unfortunately, it seems that during the conversion from the original to the C64, all three aspects were lost.

The game starts with you, as Lee, the hero about to be mashed by several unfriendly-looking dudes. But, as you have mastered the secret martial art "Chin Shao-lin", you should find it doesn't bother you that much.

The guys rapidly approaching you are from triads, these are people who are skilled in the same art as yourself, and they're all black belt 10th dans, believe me.

The triad gands want you dead for some obscure reason, and not liking this you decided that you'd better escape quick.

On the first screen you are placed inside the temple which, although slightly reminiscent of the arcade, really leaves a lot to be desired.

You can kick the oncoming attackers by pressing the fire button, and can also do a jump kick if you are clever enough. These two ways are the only means of defending yourself. Well, the only two normal ways. The third is magic, which you will be bestowed with after killing a very nasty baddie.

Using magic, your kick movement is replaced by throwing certain magical weapons, be it a knife, crystal ball or energy bolts. You can still jump and move whilst using magic, you just can't kick.

However, you are not protected from blows by these powers, and a kick in the goolies still hurts as much as it usually does!

Should you complete the first sheet, by killing the required number of guards, you then move on. This time they get harder and several blows are needed to kill special villains.

The next new graphic screen is sheet three, which shows you outside the temple. Here you must jump on roofs while fighting, and be very careful to avoid baddies when jumping down again.

Should you get hit more than three times, you lose a life and start fighting again. The game doesn't go back to the beginning again, you start where you left off.

One annoying feature about this is the way that the triad gangs materialise out of smell flashing blocks. These blocks can appear without warning, and if you are standing on one, pow!

Another thing is that sometimes you know that you have hit a guy, but he just doesn't die. What a card!

After completing more of the same on level four, you go on to a screen which depicts the road of 'Shao-lin' and the outside of the temple. This screen is very difficult and you may well find it annoying as you will keep dying on the same stage for ages.

Shao-Lins Road is a decidedly bad effort, and it seems unreal that a good software house like The Edge could have been the father of this poor offering, especially when they've been working on it so long.

Graphically it is shameful, the title screen is a mess of pinks, reds and whites, and the characters are slower than the 1541.

Soundwise, the game has made a remarkable discovery, and all I can say is that it takes a lot of time and money to get SID sounding that bad.

All in all, nothing remotely like the original arcade game, and definitely one to give a miss. On the back of the box, it shows pictures from the arcade but tells you that your version may differ. What they forgot are those two little words. A lot!