Winning Team is a compilation of Tengen coin-op conversions. The selection is fairly varied, but how did the games rate? Each of the titles was a classic in the arcades, Tengen/Atari being famous for high quality coin-ops. So, five games for twenty quid - is it the bargain it seems?

The weird Atari puzzle game hit the Amstrad a while back, and to a rave review. The object of the game can be likened to a kind of sophisticated Connect Four. The player controls a paddle which can be moved left or right at the bottom of a conveyor belt.

Down this conveyor belt tumble a multi-coloured assortment of bricks. Using the paddle to catch the bricks, you must drop them in a container, trying to form lines of the same colour. You can fit the bricks together in several ways, but you must have three or more in a row. The grid the bricks are dropped into is a five by five "bin". This gives you quite a lot of space to play with.

You can quite easily make horizontal and vertical lines of a single colour, but each screen has a different requirement for completion. Some levels ask for a certain number of points to be scored, while others may ask for several diagonals.

Things get fast and furious very quickly, and the game combines strategic thinking and quick reflexes in an utterly, wickedly addictive arcade conversion.

The presentation of Klax is very nice, with colourful and bizarre graphics. Sound is a bit iffy, but this game has the kind of lasting challenge that puzzle fans cannot afford to be without. A real classic and probably the best game on the compilation.

Ever fancied driving around in a dirty great tank? Ever fancied blowing away hundreds of other tanks? Yes? Well, then Vindicators is the game for you.

You control a futuristic armoured vehicle, driving around a scrolling, often maze-like screen. The object is to reach the exit to the next level without running out of fuel. At various points on each level you will find extra fuel and credit stars. The latter can be used in the end-of-level shops to purchase extra weapons and goodies.

It really is a very simple concept. There are lots of baddies to kill, lots of weapons to buy and lots of fun to be had. In later levels, the mazes become tortuous, the enemy become more numerous and more dangerous.

All in all, good blasting action with lush graphics and decent sounds.

Cyberball is quite simply American Football with a twist. Set in the future, the story is some weirdness about robots playing instead of humans. The ball too is very different, if you hold it too long, the darned thing will blow up! Players too, if injured, may explode...

It all sounds very dangerous, but what it boils down to is a standard vertically scrolling American Football pitch with all the usual features. These include the ability to choose strategies and plays. This is the tricky part, finding out which moves suit which teams.

The player controls whichever droid is highlighted, passing or running as the situation requires. The exploding ball adds a great deal of urgency to the proceedings and really moves things along.

The graphics are fine and the sound suits. The game is nothing spectacular, but it is possibly the best rendition of American Football on the Amstrad.

A hugely, underrated game, Escape has a plot straight out of a Hollywood B-movie. Ignore the bizarre plot, though, and enjoy instead a fast, challenging isometric 3D arcade adventure.

The basic object of the game is to rush around the huge number of screens, rescuing hostages and powering up your weapons. Find the teleport to the next level and continue the mission to rescue a kidnapped professor.

The graphics are gorgeous, really colourful and full of character... just watch what happens when you 'accidentally' waste a hostage.

The game is huge and enormous fun to play. The puzzle aspect complements the basic blasting perfectly, and Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters is a real winner.

You drive a small blue police car along a multi-directionally scrolling road. Various types of criminals can be found along these roads. For the most part you will find yourself arresting fairly harmless suspects, such as litterbugs and hitchikers. You arrest them by pointing the cursor which floats immediately in front of your car and hitting the siren. Once the cursor is over the arrest subject, the crim is magically transported to the clink.

Every now and then you will encounter a proper villain. These chaps don't pull over when you ask them politely, so you have to ram them off the road! You play against a strict time limit, but you can increase this by scoffing doughnuts along the way. Add-ons can be purchased at a garage, including a gun to make those arrests a little simpler.

During the bonus stage you have to make the suspects confess, using a very suspicious method. You shake the joystick rapidly from side to side, shaking the suspect vigorously. Do it fast enough, and he'll 'fess up no problem.

Neat graphics and quite good fun, but possibly lacking in variety.

Yet another compilation full of last year's games. None of the games are bad, one or two being well worthwhile. If you missed them first time round, then it may be worth boosting your collection.

Overall 85%
Some good, some brilliant, Winning Team represents fine value for money.