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Warwick Leisure under the marketing name of Pulsonic, have launched a range of new games for various computers (eight for the Spectrum) at an extraordinary low price - £2.99. At that sort of price one would expect that the collection would contain nothing very new, and on the whole this is the case, with a few reasonable games and some very poor ones. The question remains to be asked, despite the low cost, are the games worth it?

Submarine Strike is a sort of simplified version of Hunter- Killer (Protek). You are the captain of a submarine with a mission to destroy as many enemy ships as possible with 10 torpedoes. The enemy has to get ships from Base A to Base B, which show up on the centrally placed radar. A map facility shows the total playing area and relates to the radar's more limited view. Hazards include reconnaissance planes which must be destroyed, enemy air attack, land-based guns, suffocation if submerged too long, running aground in shallows, and sea attack if your torpedoes miss their target. The screens include the map, control room with scanning radar of the immediate area, speed indication, depth, course, torpedo supply, on-board computer warning, air-raid warning and air-raid over indicator, then there is a periscope view for attacking shipping and also for shooting down aircraft.

Controlling the sub is quite simple with self-evident keys described in the inlay card. Messages are given you by the computer along the lines of, enemy shipping movements, imminent aircraft attack and damage reports. The mission is terminated if an enemy ship reaches base, you run out of air or fuel, run aground, use up all torpedoes, or if you are spotted by reconnaissance planes.

Control keys: M=map, 1=computer, C=change course, S- speed, D=dive, U=surface, P=pan periscope, F=fire, R=reload
Use of colour: average
Graphics: reasonable, good radar
Sound: poor
Skill levels: 1

'Of the Pulsonic games, this was about the best one, I thought. Although it couldn't be described as a highly technical simulation, it certainly manages to be fun to play. The radar screen is actually quite effective, with the scanning line rotating round, and recreating the image each time. The depth indicator is rather primitive, merely a sub shape on top of or under the blue water, with a graphic representation of the sea bed. I think this one is worth the price, although it'll never replace Hunter-Killer for the real simulation addict.'

'I found this game quite good. It has reasonable graphics and control is not too bad either. Generally, even at £2..99 Pulsonic games seem to be poor value. This is due to the fact that they use so much BASIC and many of them are very dated. However, this one is probably just worth the asking price.'

'The graphics work quite well, especially the radar, and things happen quite quickly. It's easy to get killed off, especially when twice in a row you are spotted by reconnaissance planes. There is a chance to shoot them down but your gunners seem to take ages to reload after a shot. Plotting your way round the largish area of sea and islands can be enjoyable if you like simulations. This is a fairly simple one, but I would think it worth it despite the BASIC programming.'