It's all been done before. We've got a Bruce Lee look-a-like, Ken/Ryu wannabe's, strong muscle-bound wrestler, a cyborg, big fat slow guy, some monk-like robe wearing old man, and a quick weapon wielding chick. Ok, not ALL of them are generic, but the ones that aren't don't exactly make the game any more exciting.

First and foremost, this game is viciously slow. Putting it in the time period it was released, it probably wasn't that bad, but it's nearly unplayable by today's standards. The stupidity of the control scheme will baffle even the most hardcore Geo fans. Every character has 4 basic moves (2 punches, 2 kicks) but only 2 of the 4 buttons are dedicated to attacking. The C button is assigned to a throw. Fierce attacks are accomplished by holding down the button a split second longer. This results in a lot of unwanted moves.

The ability to select between death matches and standard ones is intriguing. Death matches put the combatants in rings on fire, electrified ropes, spiked walls, etc. There is no time limit here either. These stages look decent, but the characters have very little animation at any given time, ruining any sense of realism. The standard sound effects of punches connecting and just all around sad music doesn't help things either.

The final nail in the coffin is the combo system which is so easy to abuse, it's asinine. Simply jumping in with a fierce kick and pounding out some light punches is enough to dizzy your opponent. There's nothing to stop you from repeating this either. Basically, one hit and this one is over.

Maybe, just maybe, fans of fighters from this early time period in this genre's dominance will find something to enjoy, but anyone who's played anything later will have a tough time adjusting. In most cases, they'll never adjust at all. A sad state of affairs all the way around.