Out now from Sega, £24.99.

By now most of you will be familiar with the two Golden Axe games available for the pluggy-into-the-TV-type Sega consoles. Both of these are hack 'n' slash action games - unlike this one, which combines role-playing elements with the death and gore. It's up to you, as Ax Battler, to recover the fabled Golden Axe from Death Adder before he turns Firewood into, er... firewood.

The RPG parts are viewed from above, allowing you to explore, talk to folk and suchlike. If (or rather when) you're attacked, the action flips to the traditional side-on viewpoint and battle commences. You collect vases, which govern your spell-casting abilities, and new combat moves are learned along the way. The game succeeds in enhancing the original Golden Axe concept - the RPG sections adding to the story considerably. Add to this the sexy graphics and you have a surefire winner.

87

Rating

87

Reviewer

Zero magazine

Region

UK

Scans

Zero-Magazine-Issue33?gallerypage=78