Gauntlet 2 review - Nintendo Gameboy

Take two medieval heroes and kit them out with swords, shields, and a sound knowledge of the mystic arts. Now you've got what must rank as a couple of the most powerful forces for good known in the world! Rather mysteriously, these heroes have been warped to the depths of the deepest dungeon in the land, and the only form of escape available involves doing battle with the host of meanies that infest each dangerous level.

The aim of each level is simply to find the exit in the eight-way scrolling maze. Not surprisingly, the legions of undead minions intend to make things a bit more difficult by knocking points off of your health counter. If this reaches zero, it's goodbye cruel world - or GAME OVER, depending on how you want to look at it.

Other hazards are presented by the maze itself. The dungeon is full of the likes of locked doors (which need keys to open) and both false and disappearing walls. But making the escape attempt a bit more rewarding are the masses of treasure chests found around the maze. Simply by blasting them open you reveal the goods, which are collected on contact. Other goodies, in the form of potions and power-ups are also located around the labyrinthine passages.

There are countless other mysteries to be uncovered in the Gauntlet II dungeon. The question is, will you survive long enough to solve them all and make good your escape?

What the Mean Machines staff thought

What a great conversion! All of the arcade features have been squeezed into this Gameboy version, even down to the speech! Gauntlet II is instantly recommended, although you'll have plenty more fun if you can persuade a mate to buy the game and thus take part in some duel-player thrills and spills!

Somehow, the programmers of this conversion have packed in all the graphics, sound effects, speech and playability of the coin-op! The end result is stunning - a black and white mini-replica of the original arcade machine! The action is addictive and fun, even more so with two players where you can both wander about independently! If you're a Gameboy owner, Gauntlet II is a must.