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If it's booty ye be after, then get a load of this superb offering from Domark, a one or two player gem that'll set you against the toughest of henchmen in your quest to get back your ill-gotten gains.

The evil sorcerer has taken away your treasure and, as honest, god-faring citizens, your natural reaction is to go out on a frenzied blood-rush to get it back.

Unfortunately, the way to your treasure is well and truly guarded and you'll need to master the joystick moves fairly quickly if you want to get a sniff at your gold.

Starting off as either One Eye or Red Jack, your first mission is to fight your way off of the pirate ship and over the gangplank. There are only a couple of fairly expendable guards here, so progress isn't too difficult.

Once you start moving on, however, things get decidedly sticky, and you'll need to watch yourself at all times as the arrows start hailing down on you.

As a one player game, Skull And Crossbones is exceptional stuff, taking you through caverns, castles and islands on your way to the sorcerer's lair but, as a two-player game, it's even more fun, allowing you to take it in turns to have a go at each level.

If you thought the henchman were bad enough, wait til you have to fight it out amongst yourselves for the booty at the end of each level. Guaranteed needle there.

As you progress, there are plenty of bonuses to be had; food and drink to sustain you, and treasure to lift your spirits. Look out for the skull and crossbone symbols to locate hidden treasure which will increase your strength and make your quest easier to accomplish, using some hard-earned special combat moves. Work them out for yourself and watch your blade flash through the air.

Skull And Crossbones is a well thought out arcade cut-'em-up, with some superb graphics and very atmospheric sound effects.

There are even a few lusty wenches to be rescued for good measure so, hoist the Jolly Roger and move in for some particularly nasty swordplay.

Getting used to this swordplay may take a little time, but you can bluff your way through the first couple of levels with some maniacal joystick-waggling so that, by the time you come up against the real toughies, you may well have gotten used to the moves. You'll need to.

There are no puzzles in this game, just out and out action from the start and it's excellent fun too.