Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Sam Coupé users can now enjoy the experience of Commodore VIC-20 computing. This is thanks to Twenty Commodes by James Smith, which runs on 48k and 128k machines, and Simon Owen's VIC-20 Emulator which runs on 128k machines, as well as the much coveted Coupé. Although just a bit of fun, and limited in terms of speed and features, each emulator will do full machine code (impressive stuff, eh?), and owners of Quazar's Mayhem Accelerator for the much coveted Coupé will emulate the VIC at close to full speed. This means that all the fun games, such as the Mastertronic classic Rockman and others, can now be played on the Sam with a bit of extra processing grunt.

James's emulator has been released for this year's comp.sys.sinclair Crap Gaming Competition (csscgce 2008), which is hosted this year over at reptonix.awardspace.co.uk/sinclair/csscgc2008, while Simon's rendition is available from www.simonowen.com

While you're browsing through the csscgc 2008 pages, you might be interested in trying some of the other wonders released there, such as Advanced Lawnmower Simulator: The Adventure, The Boat Of Doom or Ultimate Anger Simulator. And if you think you could do better, why not try writing your own? You have until the end of the year to do so. Rules are available on the website.

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Independent software publisher Cronosoft is readying the release of its third game for the VIC-20, as well as yet another Commodore 64 shoot-'em-up, and a couple of well anticipated games for the Amstrad CPC too. The VIC game in question is the much-loved Blue Star by Steve McCrea, and is a large explorer-type platform affair in which you must infiltrate your mortal foe's headquarters to disable the mainframe within. It's got everything you'd expect - roaming nasties and tricky screen layouts - with the exception of having a lot to explore without requiring any extra RAM.

Jason Kelk's blasterama Warflame is the next production to receive the Cronosoft treatment. As mentioned, it's a horizontally-scrolling shoot-'em-up - one laser-equipped space craft against wave after wave of alien scum.

Moving onto the CPC, Cronosoft has finally got around to publishing Balloonacy. It originally appeared on the C64 and has been ported by Kevin Thacker. The aim is to guide a fragile balloon past the usually sharp hazards to collect the key to escape the current room. This, along with Warflame, should be reviewed here within the next few weeks. And finally we have the real-media release of the sublime shooter Star Sabre, by Paul Kooistra, being a typical release of one armoured space vessel against an entire empire's worth of defences. It's certainly a stern test for any 2D shoot-'em-up fans out there. Both CPC games are £2.99 a piece, while Blue Star and Warflame weigh in at just £1.99 each, plus extra for the postage and packaging. Emulator versions are available on request, but anyone buying the real-media bundle may request the cassette or disk image at no extra cost. To get hold of these and other 8-bit games, head over to www.cronosoft.co.uk