This cassette is a mini compilation of three Capcom arcade conversions. The conversions are all of world famous coin-ops and the theme of violence runs throughout... but are they really so tough?

This coin-op took the arcades by storm when it was released. It relied heavily on massive sprites and the novel powerpads featured on the full size machine. These pads were big rubber cups containing a spring and some simple sensory equipment. This detected how hard you hit the pads and so frantic bashing was the order of the day - more involving than most beat-'em-ups.

The action takes place in several different countries as you get around the world picking fights with strangers. The object of the game is to defeat every opponent and become the world champion Streetfighter.

The game is a standard one-on-one beat-'em-up, with the usual jump-kicks, somersaults and punches. Your opponents vary in size and strength and include a massive punk and a tiny kung-fu master. The final showdown takes place in Thailand against the mighty kickboxer Sagat.

Reaching Sagat is actually very easy, as most of the opponents are defenceless against one move, namely the sweep kick. Crouching and pressing Fire wil take you through to the end of the game. This is a dreadful piece of game design and is not helped by the tedious and repetitive nature of the proceedings.

The graphics are OK, the sound almost non-existent and the pace leisurely to say the least. Fans of the arcade machine will be sorely disappointed by this and US Gold has a cheek releasing it again!

Now this is more like it. A straightforward shoot-'em-up with lots to kill and plenty to do. The game is a sequel to the ancient vertical scroller 1942. It takes place at around the time of the battle of Midway. The second world war's most famous air/sea battle.

You fly a pretty ancient aircraft, fortunately kitted out with some hugely unlikely weapons. That's a point - if this is a WW2 bomber, why does it have smart bombs and lasers? Not to mention plasma blasters and nova cannons? Still, they're very handy things to have, especially when the sky is throbbing with the sound of enemy aircraft.

The screen scrolls vertically and you have to shoot everything. That's the plot. The point of this mindless violence isn't immediately apparent, but then who cares?

Weapons pods can be picked up at various intervals, and the pods themselves contain more than meets the eye. Shooting one cycles it through a range of different weapons and you decide which one you want. The pods also turn into energy boosters for those moments when it looks like you're about to snuff it.

This brings an element of strategy to an otherwise mindless blaster. The graphics are lush and gorgeous, with lots of detailed colourful sprites and no slowing down! 1943 is absolutely superb.

Oh dear, one of your arms fell off at Commando training school. Fortunately, the bionic technicians fitted you up with a spanky new one.

It's long, with a big grappling hook on the end. This means you can fire it at things and swing tremendous distances through the air. And you can shoot and kill enemy geezers with a single blow.

The game's platforms are infested with all manner of nasty goons and killing them quickly is your main priority. Your will also come across birds and killer bees. These are more of an irritant than anything else, knocking you off platforms, often to your doom. The enemy soldiers are persistent and will chase you around, trying to kill you off.

The action starts off in a gloomy, darkened forest, filled with danger. From here, you have to make your way to a big, imposing castle and that's where it starts getting tricky. The final conflict takes place in a giant missile silo. Your objective: to destroy the superweapon and save the world and all this before breakfast!

Graphics are fine (a touch of Spectrumitis, methinks!), well designed, but with dodgy scrolling. The sound is limited to the odd bloop and bleep, but isn't all that terrible. All in all, a decent little platform shooter.

Overall 86%
P. A decent compilation, marred by the inclusion of the awful Street Fighter.