The advent of the super 16-bit machines coincided with a marked rise in the average cost of games. To begin with, this wasn't a problem since only those with a lot of money could afford the machines in the first place, but now more (and younger) people have access to machines like the ST, the price question has become a bone of contention.

The past year has seen the arrival of the budget ST game. How do they do it? Codemasters spokesman Mike Clarke reveals some facts: "We obviously don't develop £35 Psygnosis-type games, but we try to develop simpler titles with a lot of raw playability. Basically, we decide the costs for every area of production, from development to advertising, and we stick to them. If a programmer is late coming up with a product, then we introduce a penalty. This sounds worse than it turns out, since most of out products at the moment are conversions of our 8-bit titles and the programming isn't that difficult. Also, at this price tag sales don't necessarily mean big money returns, but we've been doing fine and we're happy with the money we make."

One view of the budget market scene is that releasing a game that wouldn't necessarily sell at a full price for around a fiver is certainly not a good thing. This is an opinion shared by Mertin Moth, PR man for MicroProse. "We feel that if a game turns out not to be up to scratch, it's a better idea to write the game off instead of releasing it as a budget title. People go into a shop and buy a MicroProse product simply because they know that they get a good product with attention to detail and gameplay. We value our reputation as a quality software publisher. It would be very difficult to rebuild that reputation if we started to release budget titles."

But where on earth does all the money from a full price game go? "If you look at a product like Midwinter," explains Moth, "the manual alone is something like 200 pages, so that's six months wages just for the bloke writing it. A lot of money can also go into developing the game itself. When we were originally approached with the game that became RVF Honda, it was just another racing game, but with videos and data from Honda and a manual written by the editor of Superbike, we turned it into a highly successful simulation that people are willing to pay good money for."

So what kind of games are available at the amazing all-singing-all-dancing £4.99? Codemasters' Treasure Island Dizzy, a big success in the 8-bit world, relies heavily on the tired and trusted "cute" factor. You star as the eggy hero of the title on a cruise with a rather rum-looking bunch of seafaring gentlemen now marooned on an island. You search the island for treasure and objects to help you escape. The graphics have a nice cartoon-style atmosphere and the game is extremely playable. If sales of the 8-bit versions are anything to go by, the ST version should sell phenomenally well.

Mastertronic's first releases seem to be veering towards the strategist end of the markey, with the Maelstrom-designed Grimblood and Hunter Killer. The first places you as the young heir of the Grimblood estate, forced into solving the murder of one of the castle's inhabitants. The game unfolds with a series of Cluedo-type clues as you move around the castle via doors and passages, all drawn in colourful 3D perspective.

Hunter Killer is a submarine simulation, with the kind of presentation you don't often see in budget games. All the aspects of undersea warfare have been included, from the choice of engines, through torpedo-arming procedure to control of the periscope. Hunter Killer doesn't quite match up to the quality of Grimblood, but having said that it has more content than many budget games.

Things aren't all hunky-dory though: there are also games like Codemasters' Advanced Rugby Simulator. The 8-bit version was quite a success, but it has to be said that the only thing in favour of the ST version is the price. Presentation and control aren't up to much and playability is severely lacking. It just goes to show you aren't necessarily getting a bargain.

The general standard of 16-bit budget games varies at least as much as full-price. There are games well worth a fiver, and others not worth loading. The danger is that people's critical faculties may be so distorted by the low price point that they lose sight of the fact that a bad budget game is still a bad game.