The first game on this budget compilation is an ancient game from the short-lived Piranha.

December 1986 was a time when Spectrum ports were more common, and less frowned upon. The basic concept uses the isometric flick-screen 3D so popular with Speccies but what sets it apart is that, rather than simply pushing blocks around, Cobra is an attempt at a full-blown combat arcade adventure.

Nuclear holocaust is threatened by a mad scientist who's started a program to fire off all the world's missiles. A crack commando squad is assembled to infiltrate the base, liberate eight scientists and blow up the enemy computer.

After picking your four-man team, the game begins. You can flick between your characters at will, each starts at a different position, but all are armed with sub-machine-guns and stun grenades. The enemy fortress is no pushover though, with attack robots, locked doors and lifts controlled by special consoles.

In Issue 20, Cobra won 68%, despite the ominous conclusion; "a nice idea which hasn't quite worked". Five years on, the Spectrum graphics, minimalistic sound and tricky controls are even more disappointing, making for a poor first impression. However, if you do persist, the ability to kick in doors, crawl through tunnels and some interesting graphics mean it's not bad.

The same certainly cannot be said for Combat Zone, a vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up that countless homegrown SEUCK games could put to shame. With a limited screen area and green enemy bullets getting lost on mainly green backgrounds, it's simply awful.

Gunboat is no better, a dodgy pseudo-3D, horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up. Your boat may have four different weapons to use, but only get one list - and that's taken away by just two or three hits. The rotational control method makes things even more confusing and frustrating.

But the star player has to be Dead Or Alive, a single-screen 1987 release where you play a sheriff who has to shoot outlaws escaping from jail and robbing the bank. They shoot back, and there's a horse which periodically runs across the screen, but apart from terminal boredom the main threat is running out of ammo.

The only way you can get more is by shooting someone, but if you've got no ammo, you can't shoot anyone... Unbelievably simple, this is a contender for the most pathetic game of all time.

Apart from Cobra, this compilation is useless, unless you enjoy a good giggle at diabolical games. However since Cobra is included, and Phil likes it, the compilation has some gameplay value (albeit not as high as giggle value!)