Note to software publishers: If you wish your company's product to be included, please send only the very latest releases to Bryan Skinner, Software Editor, PCN, 62 Oxford Street, London W1A 2HG; and please don't forget to include prices and a telephone number.

Astro Chase (C64) isn't a new game but, like Flip & Flop, it's new to the UK. The company, State Soft, whose motto is 'Really Something Else' has signed licensing deals with American software houses and is poised to introduce a number of titles over the next few months. Astro Chase won the Science Fiction and Fantasy Game of the Year 1984 Award and, as with all State Soft programs, has the added recommendation of a fast-loading system. Curiously, the fast-loader is British based, so we can still teach the Americans something about software.

Daley Thompson's Decathlon from Ocean means you can put off Olympic withdrawal symptoms for a little. It will also give you experience in destructive testing of joysticks. It's a bit like the arcade game Track and Field. You control Daley and you have to jiggle the stick from right to left and back to get his legs moving. While it's hardly riveting, the musical accompaniment is the best we've ever heard on the 64 and the game attracted plenty of attention.

US Gold is continuing to import software from the States, though with Spooky Mansion you might wonder why. It's a very simple game in which you, as a ghost, wander round various locations. A bit like Bug-Byte's Rapscallion, but without the interest or speed. US Gold has also imported Cosmi's new version of Caverns of Khafka for the Commodore 64. This is certainly worth a look.

Frank N Stein is the latest from PSS and involves collecting the various parts of Frank's body in the correct order. Spring coils are available to help you jump to different levels and various hazards such as ice, snakes and syringes impede your progress. It's not terribly original, but it's amusing and needs good planning for success.

Midway is a complex game of strategy with some real-time action. As Commander of all the American navy forces, your task is to defend the island of Midway which is all that stands between the Japanese fleet and the American coastline.

It's nice to see software released for micros like the Amstrad and Memotech though the Amstrad is hardly short of new software these days. What a pity then that the bulk of the new stuff is, well, let's stick to 'unexciting' and hope for better things.

Osprey! was developed in conjunction with the RSPB and is a welcome change in games themes. Rather than taking potshots at scarce birds of prey, as in Flying Feathers (PCN, issue 64), it's more along the lines of Ossie. You have the responsibility of protecting the Osprey population of a Scots Loch and your duties include tourist control and keeping egg poachers and hunters at bay. There are ten levels of skill. The game comes with a 32-page colour brochure detailing the natural history of the Osprey in Scotland.

The game combines simulation (you can allocate numbers of wardens to different tasks) with graphics depictions of Lochside scenes. At £9.95, it's still worth the cost, even if the graphics are limited.

QL Utilities is possibly the first third-party software for Sinclair's mixed-reception micro. The program offers single-key loading or deletion of files, auto cartridge multiple reformatting for maximum storage space and auto backup of all files from Microdrive to Microdrive.

Pilot is a little-known programming language and a version from Ariadne Software is now available for the Commodore 64. Though rather expensive at £26 and not very well documented, it's well worth considering as an alternative to CBM Basic.