Northpole Showdown, at first appearance, is an excellent beat 'em up, although there really isn't an awful lot to it. Santa has hired various robots to do the elves' work of wrapping the presents and dishing them out. As expected, the robots turn evil and it is your job, as one of the elves, to fight your way back to Santa's workshop.

This has all the elements of the classic old school beat 'em ups - special moves, great graphics and end of level guardians. While the graphics are definitely eye candy and make you feel as if you are in a cartoon world, unfortunately certain elements let the game down.

Firstly, the game becomes repetitive far too quickly, even for a beat 'em up, which are notorious for being repetitive. Secondly is the special moves - there is an adrenaline bar down the bottom of the screen, which must be at least a little filled to perform them. Unfortunately it is far too easy to fill up, giving you endless amounts of special attacks. In turn the special attacks lose their impact (since in most of the levels, they allow you to beat the end of level guardian with ease). By the end of the first level you will probably be sick of using them.

The sound is also a disappointment - the soundtrack is short and keeps repeating itself and the sounds are average at best. A little more effort could have been put in with this side of the game.

Nonetheless the graphics and the barebones of the game play do make this game at least worth taking a look at. It may not captivate you for endless amounts of time but it sure does look nice.