MSX machines have been in the shops for a few months now, and we all know that in terms of units shirted the MSX phenomenon hasn't quite been the mega-invasion that many people (pro and anti) billed it as being. But a fair number have been sold, so what of the software?

Well, quite frankly, there isn't a lot. Software houses don't seem to have warmed to the famed MSX "computer hi-fi system" approach, and to date there've been no conversions from the enormous range of Spectrum Z80-based programs, barring Manic Miner, which Software Projects have converted to run on everything (I'm expecting to see it on the Jupiter Ace any day now). None of the British star software houses have shown a real interest, but maybe this won't last. In the meantime, there are a few bits and bobs around - if you look for them.

Apart from the limited choice, I wasn't thrilled to bits by the quality and tone of MSX software. It all seems robust enough, but there isn't a lot of imagination on show, and particularly in the case of Konami's cartridges, there's definitely a feeling of cuteness about most of the offerings I've seen. Uncle Walt would be proud - cute kids, cute penguins, cute insects, cute mice, cute planes with cute stubby little wings... urgh! Not completely to my taste, but presumably the makers are intent on the under-12s market. It makes me thankful for all those grotty little Wallys, Willies and Sabreman who parade regularly across Spectrum screens.

Mind you, I'm not saying it isn't a very playable game. The graphics are very elegant, the tune doesn't drive you mad, and you do get steadily better at playing - the first stages are very easy. I preferred Konami's Antarctic Adventure, though. This is structurally similar to Pole Position, but instead of a car you control an appealing little penguin.

The game opens with a map showing a route around the Antarctic continent, between the different national bases. Thankfully there is no mention of the Falklands, all the hazards being distinctly non-lethal. Each frame is a route between two neighbouring bases which you have to complete within a time limit in order to get to the next. You manoeuvre the penguin from left to right dodging crevices and pools. The latter are very dodgy - from time to time a walrus may appear and running into him slows you down a lot. You can also vary speed which can be essential on the narrow bits. Great graphics, and once again a game you can ease into gently.

I get the impression that in Japan games software is seen as something for kids only. It was with some relief that I turned to Mirrorsoft's 737 Flight Simulator, written by Salamander Software. This is not a dashing flight-sim - you can't throw a 737 through an Immelmann too easily, but it's unfussy and a good introduction to the genre.

Don't expect a real-time 3D graphic display through the cockpit window (a la Aviator). 737 is more of a take-off/landing simulator, but it's quite instructive if you're interested in landing commercial airliners. Well, I'm not really... but I quite enjoyed the program nonetheless. I have a suspicion that it could get pretty dull after the fourth routine flight though.

Another conversion from the Spectrum is Bubble Bus' Hustler. This is simply good old bar pool, but with only six balls - a bit too simple, I thought. But it's a very solid program, and gives you lots of options. You can play one or two player games, take the balls in strict order, play with each ball assigned to its own pocket, or simply down the ball any old way.

Cue control is achieved by moving a little cross-hair around the screen using the joystick and pressing Fire when the strength gauge is at the right level - it moves up and down continuously, a method which I wasn't too happy with. Still, Bubble Bus have improved on the Spectrum version by allowing spin and this adds a lot to the game. Solid stuff.

We return to cuteness with Kuma's Fire Rescue. This is yet another ledges game in which you must rescue a lot of enchanting little Mickey-type mice from a blazing house - just take them to the edge and drop them off. Unfortunately you have to dodge the fires as well and those deep burning holes in the floor which also must be dodged. Extinguishers help, but these are hard to get at. It all became very boring very quickly, and I was particularly annoyed by the lengthy gap between frames.

I preferred Driller Tanks, another Kuma product. This is really another ledges game except underground. The scenario involves some rather ugle creatures which for some peculiar reason are called Mammuts and Skorks in the program, but on the sleeve become Hectoriens and Ikedariens. These fire-breathing monstrosities seem hell-bent on busting up a replica of the Taj Mahal. They can be stopped by freezing, followed by crushing, but you may have to do a lot of tunnelling to get to the right position. It isn't all that wonderful, but it has a certain crazed appeal.

Which is more than I can say for Dog Fighter. Not a flight simulator, this is a rather lacklustre shoot-'em-up in which you in your little plane (which is of course cute...) I have to shoot down one or two other little planes from an enemy carrier. A little spice is added by the need to match altitudes, but really I've had more fun cleaning out the cat's litter tray.

Kuma seem to be really banking on MSX - their fourth package is Superchess, altogether a sterner product than the others. Without any other MSX chess packages to compare with, all one can say is that it seems to play reasonably well at moderate levels, and the screen display's pretty readable, although the knight's a funny shape and the board is coloured yellow/green. There are several play levels, the easiest taking an average of three seconds over a move and the hardest twelve hours. Definitely not cute.

Less cute than camp is Eclipse Software's Oh Mummy! This is a Painter/Amadar variant. You are an egyptologist scampering around rather disrespectfully between a whole lot of Pharaohs' tombs. As you surround a particular tomb with your footsteps, the contents appear, and they may be either treasure or a dreaded guardian mummy. You have to get hold of both the key and the king's sarcophagus to get to the next frame, but unfortunately a bunch of rather lost-looking mummies keep harassing you. Their touch is death and so forth, but mostly they just wave their arms in the air. In fact, the game is very easily learnt, and once you've got the playing technique you can go on for ever or until the Curse of Sleep claims you anyway. Soporific.

A final note of cuteness creeps in with Electric Software's Buzz Off! You play Bertie the Bee, and the deceptively simple idea is to run around the screen grabbing any fruit lying around, a la Pac-Man. Unfortunately, with each bit you pick up a bit of spider appears and soon the whole screen is cluttered up. Hit the web or the screen edges and you fall to the ground stunned, whereupon the spider eats you.

Well, life's like that sometimes. It's a pleasant enough little thing, just not enough to it really.

So there it is... Sadly, the only software in this bunch I can recommend in any way are the Konami cartridges, expensive as these are, plus Hustler and Superchess, and just possibly Mirrorsoft's flight-sim. It's early days yet of course and MSX programs can only increase in quality and quantity. The only question is how much...