Welcome to the first of the new all-singing, all-dancing, maxi-size Recommended section. As it's nearly the New Year, we decided to usher out the old (i.e. the drab Games Index) and bring in the new (i.e. this). Here's where you'll find all the games that have been released over the last six months or so that we at The One consider to be essential components of any self-respecting Amiga gamer's software collection. If you haven't got these games, then you don't deserve to have an Amiga...

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Guide Gomez across tonnes of massive levels in an effort to rescue the rest of his family in one of the finest platform romps to appear on the Amiga so far. Bundles of secret rooms, devious traps and fluid playability make this film tie-in a 'must buy' for all avid fans of the platforming genre.

Although this type of 'waggle your sticks' sport game went out with Noah, The Aquatic Games injects new life into the old dog by introducing a number of unusual events. Packed full of cartoony visuals and aided by a bouncy soundtrack, the AG's should entertain most owners with a sense of humour.

When Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker was first released, the public lapped it up in droves. Archer has used the same game engine to produce a game which is arguably better than Snooker due to the fact that Pool is a more accessible and easier to play sport. If you missing out on Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker then you'd better pot this 'un.

From the team that brought you Midwinters 1 and 2 comes this, another 3D strategy game in a very similar style. Supposedly based in a pseudo-Eastern Europe, it's the player's task to bring peace and harmony to the world via trading and the occasional bit of combat. Boasts stunning fractal-generated 3D landscapes.

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Assassin is a Strider-based arcade shoot-'em-up which blows the rest of the feeble attempts clean out of the water. With perfect control, five massive levels, gorgeous graphics inspiring sonics... Need we go on? Assassin should be in everybody's software collection, now!

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Whilst the first two Beast games were lovely to look at but crappy to play, Beast III shows exactly how it should have been done. It's still dreamy to watch but underneath the visuals there's a right stonker of a game. The cleverly designed puzzles and frantic non-stop action should keep most entertained for weeks.

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A highly-successful attempt to tap into the market pioneered by Dungeon Master and Eye Of The Beholder. Although ostensibly not too different to what's gone before, Black Crypt succeeds because of the intense atmosphere it generates with its effective use of 3D.

Sid Meier does it again - and you thought he couldn't beat Railroad Tycoon! Your job? Evolve your populace up from the Stone Age to the 20th Century and beyond. The strain of the port from PC to Amiga does show sometimes in the disk accessing, but the involving strategic gameplay more than compensates.

Another series of games where the third proved to be the best of the bunch. Forget the previous two, or most other sprite-based racers - this game is one of the contenders for the racing trophy. It scrolls, plays and moves so well that you'd be a fool to let this one overtake you.

A throwback to the old days when isometric games ruled the waves, D/Generation hides its storming gameplay underneath some 'alright' graphics. An arcade adventure in its purest form, immensely suspenseful and cheap as well, you should seriously think again if this isn't in your disk box.

Based on the 'classic' David Lynch movie, in Dune it's your job to harvest the Spice while battling the evil Harkonnens on the surface of the arid desert world Arrakis. Don't be fooled by the graphic adventure-ish graphics - this is a thinking man's game, albeit one blessed with easy accessibility and superb playability.

Although the single-player mode may not inspire much praise (it's okay, we suppose), the two-player (or even *five* player mode) will cost you months once you begin to play it. The most cowardly gameplay tactics are called for (plant a bomb and leggit) will have you cursing even your mum should you challenge her.

If 3D role playing adventures are your 'thing' then you can do no better than Beholder 2. Although it doesn't really improve over the original, it's still a huge and awe-inspiring game which will take some time to complete. It's looking slightly dated when compared to the flashy RPGs that are now appearing.

Another superb console-type platform game which shows that the Amiga can do it just as well as those fiddly cartridge machines. Guide Cool Coyote around the many levels in an effort to defeat the evil Wizard in his desert domain. With unique gameplay elements and terrific playability you'll miss this one at your peril.

Yet another blast from the past, Fireforce has distinctly Green Beret origins. Who cares where it comes rom when the end product is this good? Violence and more violence (with some distinctly realistic throat-slitting) make this horizontally scroller a game which you should hide from your granny.

A super-cute platform jobby that constantly astounds, Hoi is a surprise star on the Amiga. Help the 'saur through five bloody huge levels in one of the most smoothly playable games yet. With real gameplay variation this looks set to become a timeless wonder.

Although Indy hasn't fared too well in the arcade game dept up till now, this isometric 3D arcade adventure more than rectifies the matter. Its blend of puzzles and action is just right (even though the control can be a little fiddly in places) and should keep any fan of The Man with the Hat more than happy.

We may disagree with the Frenchies over trivial little things like Maastricht, but you've got to admit they know how to write damn fine RPGs. Although the first-person 3D system is a bit like every other you've seen (although prettier than most), the excellent plots more than compensate for any sense of deja vu.

It seems like the World and his wife is doing some sort of licensed car racing game these days, but Core's effort manages to pull away from the pack quite elegantly thanks to some impressively-fast 3D and an excellent easy-to-use track designer (which in our estimation is far better than Lotus 3's RECS anyday).

A graphic adventure in the Monkey Island 2 model. As Brandon, your only chance of resuscitating your turned-to-stone Grandad is by defeating the mad jester Malcolm (the best villain to have appeared in an Amiga game yet). Lots of truly gorgeous graphics and an inspired player interface.

The third Lotus instalment mixes the best of the two previous offerings and ends up with a game which will satisfy all. With laps or circuits, a variety of race conditions and an unusual course designer, Gremlin have produced a real winner. You still can't wreck the Lotuses, though!

An impressive debut by Revolution, an English-based programming team, Lure improves over the standard graphical adventure by way of its real character interaction. The non-playing characters all go about their own business, chatting to each other and the like, making this the closest game to real life yet.

What else is there left to say? The game to end all graphical adventures with genuine humour and gorgeous hand-painted graphics improves in every way over the original (a task in itself). The disk accessing is a trifle too much but the overall package is one of the best you'll ever seen on the Amiga.

System 3 have taken a fantastic 8-bit game and transformed it into one of the best 16-bit arcade adventures so far. With superb visuals and eerie sound, you'll be drawn into the nightmare worlds based on various Greek myths. Perhaps a touch too linear for some, it's still a must for arcade action fans.

Arguably the best of the Pinball duo, Dreams is a masterpiece in programming. The ball movement is so real that you'll be soon wondering why anybody bothers to play the real thing. Four tables may not sound like much but in a game with no 'end' there is endless amounts of game-time to be found here.

Perhaps *the* best shoot-'em-up to appear on any home computer, Project-X is superb in every way. Arcade quality graphics, amazing speech samples, fifty frames per second scrolling all add up to make it a blaster's dream. It may be a little too hard for the wimps among us, but don't let that deter you.

A high-flyer in the charts - and deservedly so. Putty is one of the most original games, let alone platform games, to have appeared in a long time. As a tiny little blue blob, the player has to slip, stretch and absorb his way around umpteen gaudy levels, rescuing robots from an evil wizard's minions. Try it - you'll like it!

The biggest problem that players have had with 3D-polygon bike games so far is that the control method is normally so terrible. Red Zone control is better than most, although it still takes a while to get used to. Fast and frequently exhilarating, it was the best bike game around... until No Second Prize appeared.

Hey, there are these woods, right, and - they're risky! (Thanks in the main to the legions of the Undead that roam its moonlight-dappled pathways). Yup, we're in horizontal-scrolling slash-'em-up territory here and not a bad one at that, although the scrolling is a touch 'jittery' in places.

Here at The One we don't care what you *or* what your mates say - Sensible Soccer kicks seven bells out of Kick Off 2. Admittedly the goalies are a bit, erm, 'weird' at times, but that's a small price to pay for instinctive control and out-and-out addictiveness. (Don't believe us? Well, you try to stop our designers playing it!)

The first game to use the stunning Photoscape graphics system, where lights actually illuminate the surrounding area correctly. Shadowlands is a fantasy RPG in the Dungeon Master mould, except here the four party members are viewed from a 'corner of the room' isometric-3D angle.

From the same boys who brought you Shadowlands, Shadoworlds re-employs the Photoscape system to good effect in this Aliens-inspired RPG. The accent's more on action here than the puzzle-orientated Shadowlands and arguably suffers for it - shooting monsters in half-darkness can get annoying at times.

Space Crusade is actually one board game that deserved to be computerised. It removes all the fiddly moving plastic figures about business that made the cardboard version a chore to play. The isometric combat sections add to the already tense atmosphere and make this game a highly enjoyable experience.

Another platform game with Sonic overtones that certainly hits the mark, Titus is a huge and original game with some unique features (the Magic Carpet in particular). Extremely fast and furious, although the size of the levels is offset by the occasional paucity of baddies actually patrolling them.

A puzzle game which is firmly Lemmings influenced, Troddlers adds to the DMA classic by introducing a number of different level objectives. If anything it owes a little more to Solomon's Key than Lemmings with its emphasis on block manipulation as a means to guiding the Troddlers to the level exit.

The latest (and possibly the last, on the Amiga at least) in the long line of quality RPGs, Ultima VI is by far the best of the series, boasting attractive if diminutive graphics, incredibly involved plotlines and buckets of atmosphere. Not everybody's cup of tea but an impressive farewell (?) to say the least.

Sadly overlooked in the hoo-har over F1GP, Vroom (which came out a little earlier than the MicroProse game) is an exciting polygon-based racer that makes up for what it lacks in depth with a nifty turn of speed and huge fun factor. And a nice touch is you can even see your hands turning the steering wheel for once.

It's the PC-to-Amiga conversion no-one thought we'd ever see, but here it is and it's not half bad. It's got everything the PC version had and is thus just as impressive. Although the 3D can be sluggish at times, the superb feeling of actually taking part in a big space campaign pulls you through the occasional lulls.

Without a doubt the best game that Ocean has released in a long while, Wizkid also happens to be its most original (all thanks to those crazy funsters at Sensible Software). On the surface it looks like a simple Breakout-inspired arcade game, but there is in fact a wacky arcade adventure lurking beneath. Fun!

Gremlin certainly cooked up a character to rival even Mario and Sonic in this 'tribute' to the sad consoles. Fast, furious and manic in every way, Zool is a statement to industry that the Amiga can perform as well as the plastic slabs - and better! There's nothing like Zool to impress your mates.