When was the last time you had a good slash with someone, eh? How long has it been since you hacked up with a friend? The answer to this is probably: "Last Saturday night actually," but it could also be "God, not since... blimey, not since Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance!"

And that's a bit sad really, because co-operative hackandslash gaming is something we should never really be without. Yet despite the critical and commercial success of Dark Alliance, there hasn't been a single contender for its crown since the day it was released. The Hunter series might be fun, but it's not to everyone's taste.