Gauntlet 2 review - Nintendo Entertainment System

The warriors of the dungeon are back, and their challenge is even more difficult than ever! The burlesque barbarian, the voluptuous valkyrie, the wizened wizard, and the exiguous (that means small to you lot) elf are out once again to defeat the forces of darkness by travelling through 100 levels of manic maze action, blasting nasties and generators, collecting food, drink and keys, and generally trying to stay alive!

Not only are there monsters from the first Gauntlet, such as the ghosts, lobbers and Death, but new creatures to deal with, namely some very large fire-breathing dragons, and the IT monster, which turns everything into a lethal game of tag!

Have you got what it takes to run the Gauntlet?

What the Mean Machines staff thought

I'm a great fan of the Gauntlet games, and Gauntlet II simply blew me away. Graphically excellent, and audibly superb (there's all the speech from the coin-op in there, too!), this has a level of addictiveness that just doesn't let up, no matter how repetitive the action may seem. With the four-player option as well, Gauntlet II represents excellent value for money, and fans of the genre and the coin-op would do well to grab it quick.

What an astonishing conversion! Boasting stunning graphics and awesome special effects, Gauntlet II is one of the finest coin-op translations I've ever seen on an 8-bit system. It's got all the fun and action of the original machine, and when played with two or more players, it's one of the most enjoyable games you'll play on the Nintendo. The game is a bit easy when you play it on your own, but it's just so brilliant you just want to keep playing anyway, since the order of the screens is random and there's always plenty of surprises around the next corner. Arcade addicts should make this a priority purchase.