Is a hero still a hero when you can see his underpants? Man of Steel director Zack Snyder says no. Luckily for the star of affable top-down hack-and-slash game Trouserheart, developer 10tons believes that heroism can't be killed by visible underwear. In fact, in Trouserheart, the revealing of our protagonist's boxers is the catalyst for level-upon-level of action and adventure.

Having had his pantaloons nabbed by a cheeky klepto goblin, Trouserheart's kingly star decides to set off on a quest across the land to recover his briefs. Taking control of the king, you must fight you way through single screen stages filled with numerous goblins, ogres, tentacles, and other nasties. Each stage consists of a few of these screens strung together in a line, with a save point in the middle and a boss at the end.

The controls couldn't be more simple: you guide your king around with a floating joypad, and batter the attack button to slash enemies into bits. Movement is slow and steady, something which really works to the game's advantage. Like Trouserheart's attractive cartoon visuals, the combat and movement are solid and robust. Though you spend the game repeating the same actions over and over - walk into a room, kill everything, collect gold - they remain satisfying throughout.

You can level-up your sword and armour from the king's throne room, which cleverly takes the form of a mini-level rather than a menu screen. Leveling gear doesn't change your combat technique - it merely makes your strikes more powerful and defences more durable. The different enemies help to keep things interesting, though, with fireball-lobbing mages and bomb-weilding goblins forcing you to dash around the screen like a half-naked, sword-wielding dodgeball player..

Trouserheart succeeds by keeping things simple and nailing the fundamentals. It's basic arcade stuff, but the chunky visuals and mechanics make for a gratifying gaming fix. Throw your britches up a tree, and get in on the action.