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If you're a cynic, you're going to have a hard time with this game. I mean, there's two reasons for doing a sequel, right? Milk the licence and make loadsmoremoney. Think again. The good thing about a licence is that it carries a number of associations, but you can't just go using it whenever you like. Ocean went to Taito with a bona fide sequel and sold them it. And a good idea it is too. Take Renegade and put him into a new game with Double Dragon-style gameplay.

In truth though, last year's Renegade wasn't all it might have been, which is why Ocean put Dave Collier on the job. The result, as you might expect from the man responsible for many of their best games like Arkanoid and Green Beret, is striking. Suddenly, the backdrops are filled with large, well-animated characters.

The plot is much the same as the first round of bruising, with the Renegade now in pursuit of a gangland boss, a Mr Big who murdered his brother whilst he was investigating his activities. Your revenge trail takes you through five different locations populated by the kind of people Bronson's Paul Kersey wouldn't spit on.

You begin on the third floor of a deserted multi-storey car-park. No sooner do you emerge from the lift than a bunch of rampaging Hell's Angels set on you. One tries to run you down on his bike immediately so you better be ready to kick the oily scumbag off it. To get out of the car park you have to work your way through its four levels, going down in the lift and fighting your way out until you finally emerge on the street in Level Two.

Attackers come at you in pairs or singly, basically because they're so big. Each man is four sprites large and there are weapons in there too. They're all beautifully drawn as well, with great comic touches reminiscent of arcade games styling. The bottom of the screen shows your strength and a large pair of eyes react to the kind of treatment you receive. A good thump in the gonads turns them bloodshot. And no wonder.

Our vigilante has all the moves he had in his first adventure, but this time you don't have to access them with the space bar (it's nice to know companies do listen to us occasionally). But Renegade also has the ability to pick up and use fallen weapons Double Dragon-style. You have to disarm an assailant before you get to dish out the treatment yourself, but when you have a weapon like the bat or the stick it replaces the bunch so you can start wrapping it round a few faces.

Level Two is the sleazy street, populated by pimps (what the packaging euphemistically refers to as a lady's boss). If you sort them out, you can make your way along a superb backdrop of shops, all with authentic shading on their windows. Your path soon gets blocked by some, er, ladies, who give you a good hiding if you do the gentlemanly thing.

The last thing anyone wants to do is make their way through the park at night, but the Renegade has no choice, so keep your eyes peeled and your bat handy for thuggin' great skinheads. If you don't wake up in a crowd, you may make it to the shopping mall where some objectionable Beastie Boy types will slide on backwards and set their dog on you. The dog is quite wonderful. He opens his jaw like a crocodile and takes big chunks out of you.

The final level takes you to the confrontation with Mr Big in his spit and sawdust club. To reach him you'll have to get round his fat 'n mean bouncers. Then you can sort out your differences. Oh, by the way, he's huge. Like, eleven sprites huge, and it takes more than a couple of taps with your toothpick of a baseball to stop him.

Target Renegade is hugely entertaining and ample justification for a sequel - much more so than Arkanoid: Revenge Of Doh. It develops the theme, and improves the gameplay no end on the original. The graphics alone kick the first Renegade game square in the kidneys. This version is great to look at and just as good to play. Dave Collier has done the business once again - just get him working on something else because gamers are still hungry for software this good.