Ghosts to Glory was a great game, but probably a little too much of a platformer to suit its amour-bearing namesake and the obvious heritage of its setting.

As the title suggests, Army of Zin takes a rampant horde of mechanoid foes, revived and released from its cliffside hold, and pits it against a lone knight. Well, almost alone - you have limited help from the Grim Reaper, who you can summon to dispatch of your enemies if the onslaught gets Maxim down to his boxer shorts.

Power-ups come in the form of improved battle gear right down to Maximo's boxers, and are available from merchants by collecting 'Koin' from grateful viallgers you save before they are cut down by the invaders. Other items on sale include replenishing tonics and other survival essentials.

Koin can also be collected by cutting down enemies, long grass and finding treasure chests. It's a methodology that's a little too overdone these days to be entirely desirable, but thankfully the focus of Army of Zin is squarely on fighting.

It's here that Army of Zin's strength of design and technical delivery really stands out. Environments are lushly envisioned and recreated to top notch effect, but while your course is essentially that or a linear platformer, the 'progression from area to area is more about serving up a decent balance of jumping, dialogue and action than presenting various panoramas or showing off in any other way.

Enemies attack in patterns, which vary according to parameters such as the number of enemies engaged at once and the amount of space available for combat. Maximo can defend with his shield or use it as a weapon, including the ability to perform a boomerang-style attack and grab otherwise unreachable items with the help of the right power-up. Beyond the basic strikes with his sword, combos and exta moves become available through experimentation and progressing through each stage.

Bosses display some outstanding thoughtfulness on the part of the designers, with some of the most varied and stimulating challenges yet seen in this type of game.

The levels themselves, with checkpoints but no save opportunities, are pleasingly, and since the action is all but relentless, loading screens offer welcome breathers at the end while the temptation to quit for a break is balanced by the variety and sheer enjoyment that becomes expected of ensuing levels.

Throughout the adventure, a suitably rousing score undelines the medieval fantasy nature of the game. The music is presented in surround sound along with all other effects, which can become especially useful when faced with multiple attackers. This is especially beneficial given that many enemies remain off-screen between moves, and its only the common patterns that allow their manoevering to be predicted and countered despite their positioning.

The camera can be manually controlled or centred behind Maximo, but displays typical difficulty in dealing with restricted spaces.