There's a new five pack sports game compilation on the way from the Codies - Super Sports Challenge - priced at £12.99. We don't as yet have full details on all of the five games included, but we can tell you that one of the sims will be a brand spanking new snooker and pool "pot-'em-up"! Cleverly titled Cue Boy - the latest in a long line of recent Speccy releases of the genre.

We've had 3D Pool re-released by Kixx, American 3D Pool from Zeppelin and Championship 3D Snooker, also from the Zepps. They were all excellent titles, and they all had something in common. Yep, they included 3D view options, possibly the best way of viewing a game such as snooker or pool. And, though all of them are different in style, they work very well indeed.

Cue Boy returns us to the world of bird's eye viewing for a change. Is this a good idea though? Will the game lack that extra refreshing angle that the more recent sims have had?

It's early days yet, but unfortunately Cue Boy just looks like any old green baize sim (and I mean "old"). You can choose to play either a pool or snooker tournament, either in two-player mode or against one of five computer opponents with differing skills and abilities. It does have a few nice touches though. After you've taken a shot, a little man (Cue Boy, I assume) runs onto the table and smiles (or frowns!) depending on how good he thinks your last shot was. Nice touch, that. At least it's original. Codemasters' very own Reggie Loud (ever heard of him before!) is the commentator, providing hints, instructions and comments in his own special way (i.e. waving his arms around with his mouth wide open and blinking his eyes so hard that you'd think he was trying to squash them).

As I said, Cue Boy will first be released on the Super Sports Challenge album. We'll bring you news and previews of the other games on the pack, original or re-released, in future issues leading up to the release in November. As for Cue Boy, it looks a bit dated to me, but we shall see...