SPECS: Pentium 233, 64MB RAM, 600MB free, 4xCD-ROM, 4MB video card

HOWDY, pardner. Why not set yerself down a second? What's that? You wanna know the secret of Desperados?

Well, whisper it soft, but this Wild West game is one you've probably played before in another incarnation. Back then, you'd have called it Commandos, and what a cracking game it was too.

Desperados walks the same walk. It just wears a bigger hat. You take control of John Cooper and his posse, working your way through 25 levels which need more brain than brawn to navigate.

Each character has special abilities, from Cooper's musical watch which he can use to lure enemies in, to Doc's gas tubes or Sam's ability to snare snakes and then let them loose to scare passing horses.

At first, though, it'll just be Cooper in your capable hands, as he sets out to free the members of his gang from the various scrapes they've got themselves into.

The game is very well constructed. Each time you gain a new character, you will undergo a brief training mission that will get you used to their skills. But don't expect an easy ride. There's a lot of puzzling things out to be done.

Desperados (and to be picky, shouldn't it be Desperadoes?) is a tough challenge, but the style and mood of the game is just right, more Maverick than Sergio Leone but with a class all its own. It's well worth a mosey down these streets.

Graphics 4/5

Sound 5/5

Gameplay 4/5

Gamespan 4/5

Overall 4/5