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Thai Boxing is really a cross between two of the most popular themes used in computer games today. I don't really think I need to tell you what they are (I expect you've already guessed) boxing and... yes, karate.

I've got a sneaky feeling we're going to see a rush of games incorporating karate into another theme. So far this month we've had two arcade adventures, this game, and I've even heard tell of a racing game that also included the ever-popular karate!

Back to Thai Boxing. The gameplay and scoring are practically the same as the other couple of dozen martial arts games around. Each combatant has a stamina bar; when this is down to zero, your game is over. However, this rarely happens. In the case where you and your opponent both have energy level, whoever's is highest is declared the winner.

There are six levels of play, and each level has three karate-chopping opponents. You must fight each opponent three times and it is the best of three one-minute bouts. That makes a total of fifty-four bouts you must fight and win. Tricky, eh? No. This is where Thai Boxing separates itself from the rest... it is incredibly easy! Without trying to be too big-headed [Unthinkable! - Ed] I completed it first time - no pokes, no tips. Just my Cheetah Mach I, and the instructions supplied.

Why then is it so easy? Simply because Thai Boxing has only a small selection of blows, around six in all. Only two of these are very effective, flying kick and that Fist favourite leg-sweep. All you need to do is alternate these up, down, up, down etc and you will soon find that your opponent seems to spend most of his time on the deck. This is quite fun for a while, but soon becomes a bore.

You can also play a two-player game which works nicely, but only if you and your opponent agree not to use the above sequence. Graphically, Anco haven't let themselves down as the insert artwork would suggest! They have produced some great backdrops and sprites, although the movement is a little bit slow.

Anco have also chosen to look on martial arts literally from a new angle. As you can see from the screenshots, it looks as if you're watching from a tall tower as opposed to the conventional "Fist" look. This, I expect, was a cunning trick by the programmers to make it trickier, and it almost worked.

Also, to put in a bit of spice, they have chucked a change of angles after each one-minute bout. I loved the way this was done, at the end of each bout the fighters face each other, crouch down, and then somersault over to their respective corners. Brilliant.

The sound is also neat, an Oriental ditty hums away in the background, often drowned out by the sound of my glove cutting into my opponent's rib-cage. Also included is some nice speech, which is rarely heard as it only comes on when the computer wins.

Overall, Thai Boxing has only two main faults: it's far too easy and we've seen it all before. This one's strictly for die-hard beat-'em-up fans, and adventurers.