Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Please put a penny in the old man's hat. If you haven't got a penny then you might as well forget it because all of these games cost considerably more than one pee.

If you are a little stuck for cash or you want to get the most out of your Christmas present requests then the answer may well be in the shape of one of the many compilations that are going to be available over the next few months.

Contents: Hard Drivin', Xybots, A.P.B., Dragon Spirit, Toobin'

The first of these multi-faceted gems is TNT from Domark - five previous full pricers for £19.95: good value or good for nothing? Let's have a look...

Each of the games on TNT are arcade conversions of Tengen 'classics', the first of which was never previously released for the C64 and will, for many users, get the old adrenalin going just by the mere mention of its name: Hard Drivin'

The arcade game was originally designed to be a professional driving simulator but, for some reason, was deemed more suitable for the leisure industry. It had a steering wheel with realistic feedback and accurately reproduced pedals, clutch, brake and accelerator - the whole caboodie - and it was an absolutely stonking experience to play it

Then Domark decided to do the conversion and, although the programmer did a superb job considering the magnitude of the project, without the twiddly but expensive hardware bits it became a fairly bland simulator in game's clothing. Sadly, the C64 version is even worse again than the other conversions.

It includes most of the features of the original, with a speed track to race around as fast as possible, plus the stunt track with loop-the-loop and a jump, not to mention all the other road users you have to avoid. But because of horrendous controls and hideously sub-standard graphics the game is rendered all but unplayable.

The second offering is Xybots, which puts the player in a walled 3D maze containing robots to destroy and keys and coins to collect. You view the maze from behind your character and can rotate him by moving the joystick left and right; moving it forward and back moves him in and out of the screen. Unfortunately, the maze doesn't actually scroll but updates in great big chunks which can leave you very disorientated and at the mercy of the enemy. This, coupled with unexciting monochrome graphics, means your interest won't be held for very long. On the plus side, Xybots can be played by two people simultaneously but the action becomes ludicrously slow so even this option doesn't exactly warm the cockles of your mussels. Onward bound...

The third game is possibly the most rip-roaring of a frankly rip-snoring bunch. A.P.B., puts you in the role of Officer Bob, a policeman with a purpose - or several purposes to be more precise. You view your police car from above and on each level are faced with a different task, from picking up traffic cones and stopping litter-bugs to arresting truly dangerous criminals by forcibly bumping them off the road.

If, while you're doing this, you accidentally crash or kill innocents (an alarmingly regular occurrence) or do anything remotely un-policeman-like, you pick up de-merit points. If you collect several of these a comical scene appears in which your boss tries to strangle you. Experience too many and your law enforcing career is over. Nice cartoony graphics and fairly addictive gameplay makes this one a pretty good lark!

Last but one comes Dragon Spirit, a straightforward vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up, where instead of controlling a spaceship you control a dragon, and instead of shooting alien craft you shoot a variety of creatures such as other dragons, hippos and bird-like creatures. There is a modicum of playability here, but the good game concept is let down by two things: an appallingly garish colour scheme and some very blocky sprites. The two effects combine to confuse the action and after a while it's like staring at a very expensive pizza having a fit. The gameplay also becomes repetitive too quickly.

All this leads me rather nicely onto Toobin', the last game in the compilation. This one too scrolls vertically but gameplay's somewhat different, You play a little boy in a little pair of shorts who rides the rapids of a very large river in a large inner tube (all very bizarre, isn't it?).

You can rotate the little fellow and wildly flap your arms to gather speed [What? Yours or the kid's? - Ed]. Then all you have to do is negotiate the various hazards that await you. There are crocodiles which eat you, rocks and spikes which threaten to burst your tube and large hands which drag you beneath the water in sinister fashion.

Each level follows a different theme to the last. The first is simply a canyon but later you travel through jungles and deserts and there's even a futuristic scene. Again, the gameplay becomes repetitive very quickly. One of the best aspects of the game is the soundtrack which changes with each level.

But then, you might as well buy a real inner tube, a portable CD and cut out the middle man.

Big name games but low on long lasting playability. Hard Drivin' shouldn't have made it past the demo stage, let alone be included here!

Contents: 4th And Inches, Fast Break, Grand Prix Circuit, Blue Angels

This is the point at which I break every rule of review writing etiquette and say "Buy, buy, buy!" right at the start instead of during my summing up. This compilation is a real corker and if you can bear to hang around a bit longer, I'll tell you why.

4th And Inches is the first of these treats and is an American Football game but don't let that put you off. As someone who gets suicidally bored mere mention of American Footie I was pleasantly surprised. Even if you don't know any of the moves you can get straight into this one and play 'blind'. One of the major plusses of 4th And Inches is the fact that it not just a strategic simulation: all of the intricacies of the game are there but you also control your players in realtime so you can make desperate dashes through the oncoming opponents which really gets the adrenalin going. So if you fancy yourself as a bit of a 'Fridge' or any other kitchen appliance for that matter, you won't go far wrong with this.

Moving switly on we come to Fast Break, a "lofty chaps with leather balls" sim - yep it's basketball we're talking about.

Again, there is a huge number of gameplay options available for the perfectionist but the impatient gamer can wade straight in and still have a riot. Each player has three team members, one of which flashes to indicate that he's the one currently under joystick control. If another team member is in a better position then a quick press of the Fire button swaps control. The trickiest part is trying to get the ball. More often than not, it just rolls and the rim then drops embarrassingly off the edge!

Fast Break is a neat little sports sim and you can either play against the computer or against a friend which considerably increases the employment.

And so we move from basketball court to racetrack and a game called Grand Prix Circuit. This is a 3D racing sim with a choice of eight different tracks, variable difficulty levels from 'easy' (with automatic gears and a virtually indestructible car) to 'practically impossible', a practice mode, one race mode and the championship. It plays well, and the graphics are superb. The smooth, fast moving track, coupled with realistic control of your car makes this game a real bargain in itself.

The final game is a tad unusual and, at first glance, appears a bit dull. However, after a few plays it really grabs your interest by the short and curlies and just won't let go. Blue Angels is a flight simulator with a difference. You become a member of a formation flying team. You have a choice of which position in the formation you take and can then practice any of the set manoeuvres.

The top half of the screen shows your view through the cockpit window, the bottom half shows a 3D representation of the route. A small target plane is displayed to show the perfect path through the manoeuvre and you must try to stay as close as possible to this in order to increase your ranking and more importantly, stay alive. There are other cockpit indicators to tell you what manoeuvre is coming up next and which direction to take. The ulimate aim is to fly a whole air display with as little error as possible. As a flight simulator, it's pretty basic but it does have an addictive quality and enough originality which more than makes up for it

The rating speaks for itself, by far the best of the lot and represents excellent value for money.

Contents: Serve And Volley, TKO, Rack 'Em, Steel Thunder

Accolade have been busy lately compilation-wise and have aiso released Al Time Classics, featuring Serve And Volley, TKO, Rack 'Em and Steel Thunder.

Not surprisingly Serve And Volley is a Tennis simuation of mammoth complexity. Duing any one rally, you need to choose the position of your player in order to intercept the incoming ball. When the ball has bounced in your half a window appears showing the type of shot chosen (be it backhand, forehand or whatever). It is then your difficult task to judge when to press the fire button, thus beginning your swing. Mis-time it and the ball thuds mockingly somewhere behind your player.

The animation and sound in the game are fairly good but because various windows are accessed during play, progress is horrbly slow; it's like watching a whole game in the style of an action replay. Technically, Serve And Volley has everything but with this type of game playabilty should be a priority. Unfortunately there is none.

KO stands for 'The Knock On' and is a simulation of knocking on elderly people's doors then running away befors they see who did it [Er... Andy, perhaps you'd ike to play this one before you go on - Ed]. Ah ha! TKO stands for 'Technical Knock Out' and is in fact a boxing simulation. The screen is split across the middle, each portion providing a 'through the (black and swollen) eye' view of each boxer and by pushing the joystick in each of the eight directions you can select which type of punch you wish to use. Press fire and the punch is carried out.

At the end of three rounds a score table appears with details of the amount of punches thrown and damage caused etc, so it's quite possible to find that although you appeared to pummel your opponent he did in fact make more of an impact on you! The damage caused also becomes alarmingly obvious during the game as your character's face changes from boyish good looks to swollen bleeding pulp (who says boxing is barbaric?).

TKO is fun but only for a short time as tactical boxing plays very little part - it's simply a case of punching repeatedly and hoping for the best. If boredom sets in too much, get a friend round and rearrange his face instead with the two player option.

Rack 'Em is not, as the name suggests, an incitement to infict medieval torture but a pool simulation with a lot more besides. The game opens with an excellent soundirack and animated picture of a mean 'n moody 'Fast Eddie' Mahler-type character swaggering into the pool hall. Once into the game you have a number of options available, allowing you to play pool, snooker, eight ball or nine ball pool. Alternatively, you can customise your own game - choose the number of reds in snooker, for instance. You can even move every single ball to any position to set up trick shots. It's all very comprehensive, but once you've mastered the technicalites of the gameplay a huge amount of ball-prodding fun can be had (smutty innuendos, courtesy Andy 'fnar' Dyer Ltd.)

Last and definitely least is Steel Thunder, a game that attempts to capture all the excitement of raveling around a batlefield at a snail's pace in an unwieldy tank. And in that respect it does the job very well, The somewhat confusing instruction booklet means that learning to play is more difficut than it should be - in fact it's far more challenging than the game itself. And even when you do get the hang of it, poor graphics and slow, tedious gameplay makes this about as interesting as a day out with the Editor. [You're fired. Erm... the moment you've finished this compilations feature - Ed.]

Nowhere near as good as the other Accolade offering but still quite a bargain. There are worse things to spend 20 quid on (like 50 kilos of horse manure, f'r instance).

Contents: Black Tiger, Strider, Forgotten Worlds, Ghouls 'N Ghosts, LED Storm

And the final compilation up for inspection this month is Platinum from US Gold and features five arcade conversions of Capcom games.

First on the reviewer's chopping block [please, no jokes about choppers - Ed] is Black Tiger. You play the part of a squat warrior armed with a large spiked ball and chain and various bullet-like things which you use to fend off monsters. There are skeletons and wraiths which are easily despatched but you're also up against spinning skulls which cannot be killed and four massive stone blocks with smiley faces (everybody now: "Ass-iiid").

The graphics are beautifully drawn - the backdrops especially are very atmospheric and fade nicely into the darkened background. The gameplay is a little too difficult at times - get through to the bitter end and you're a better man than I. But then, who isn't?

Next comes Strider, a name now synonymous with great graphics and playability. The screen scrolls horizontally and vertically as you guide Strider around the complex landscape. The little guy's agility is really quite stomach churning.

Battle your way through to the end while a variety of opponents and gun emplacements try their best to stop you. At times it seems like there's no way to get past certain hazards which could quite easily spoil the enjoyment of it all. Arcade adventure freaks will love it.

The third course is a delicious horizontally-scrolling dish, cooked in a futuristic shoot-'em-up sauce and topped with a liberal sprinkling of crapness. Forgotten Worlds just didn't appeal to me. The sprites are well-defined, the action is fast and furious and the backdrops are beautifully drawn but the gameplay just isn't slick enough to keep you coming back. Ask your friendly neighbourhood software shop if you can try afore ye buy.

And now, pit your might against the Ghouls 'N Ghosts. This one probably needs no introduction whatsoever but, for the uninitiated, it's a horizontally scrolling slice-'em-up set in a medieval fantasy scenario. You start the game with a set of armour and several swords which, rather oddly, you throw instead of wielding and a large number of lives (you need them all!). The variety of monsters you face is bewildering and the difficulty level is horrifying - but it's sufficiently polished.

To finish off with, we have LED Storm, by far the best game on Platinum. It's a car racing game which is viewed from above and scrolls vertically. There are a number of stages to complete, the first of which takes place on an aerial racetrack high above a cityscape, scrolling in beautiful parallax fashion below. Dozens of other vehicles try and block your path but these can be jumped: press the fire button and your car looms larger than life out of the screen as it puts space between it and the roadway. There are also little frog-like creatures which attach themselves to your car and slow you down. At regular intervals, the road breaks up revealing the buildings far below!

LED Storm is big, bold, fast, colourful, playable, and addictive. What better note to end on?

LED Storm is brilliant and the others range from very good to average. The punters (i.e. you) won't be disappointed.