Not the best of crops

There is a certain sensation of warm nostalgia about Market Gardener, from W. W. Electronics, recollecting as it does visions of that archaic Sumeria game of the day when we were all younger, sweeter and microfree.

However, despite the odd moments of satisfaction, it is difficult to envisage many parting with hard-earned cash - albeit just £3.50 - to savour the delights of horticultural management.

There are no audible or graphic effects lo supplement the game, merely a constant text only Mode 7 display. I'm afraid that only a top-drawer Adventure can get away with that in this age.

The game lasts for five years - that's the game, not real time. In each Spring period, the gardener must decide which crop to cultivate in each of his three land plots and whether to add fertiliser or not.

There are no quantities involved at all - merely three straight five-way choices between planting potatoes, carrots, runner beans, cabbages or leaving a field fallow.

Hereafter emerges a major drawback - there is precious little subsequent player participation, save a few token decisions during the Winter period, such as whether to purchase manure or have the land appraised.

There is a variety of descriptive pieces regarding Summer climate disruption by pests and their effects on annual yields.

These are generally informative and well thought out, but have obvious limitations. A few games exhaust the repertoire - particularly as the passages are all cut and dried rather than being created by the amalgamation of different sentences.

So I have to give the old thumbs-down for this offering - its tidy layout is cancelled out by the lack of a quantitive aspect and the idea of a long-term strategy.

Vijay Sundaram