This is the first of two compilation sets released by PSS both of games only a year or so old (all have been reviewed in C&VG in the last twelve months).

Look carefully before you buy, since the versions for different machines *don't* include the same games.

The Spectrum and C64 versions of Conflicts 1 contain Battle Of Britain, Falklands '82, and Theatre Europe but the Amstrad version substitutes Tobruk for Falklands '82.

Whether you think this price for three games is a bargain depends on whether you need more than one of them. My own view is that PSS put together what they had available rather than choosing three games for the same sort of player.

Whereas Falklands '82 is a child's game that barely qualifies as a wargame or as any kind of representation of the Falklands War, Theatre Europe is a taxing and very playable game of a hypothetical World War Three in Europe, in which the main problem is to avoid nuclear destruction.

Battle Of Britain falls somewhere between the two, as too unrealistic a game for the true enthusiast but probably too difficult for a beginner and not very appealing to someone who just likes arcade games.

The Tobruk of the Amstrad version is too limited as a strategy game of Western Desert warfare, but includes a good tank simulator. All four games involve a single player against the computer.

It's an interesting collection but it still needs a second thought at £12.95.