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Superior Soccer is the latest from Superior, and is both an arcade and football management game. You can choose to play either type of game, or play both together if you so desire.

In the arcade game, you have a screen view of the pitch from above in the form of a window that scrolls in all directions. You can play against the computer, or against another player. There are all the expected features such as dribbling, passing, tackling etc. In the bottom corner of the screen is a commentator who gabbles endlessly just like they do on TV.

The football management game involves managing your own team throughout a season. You can buy and sell players, build up your team and generally use your skills to work your way up through the divisions.

Overall, this is a splendid game to play with nice graphics in the arcade part and is sure to please those who are interested in football, I would think.

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Next off from Superior is Ricochet, an arcade adventure that boasts a mere 330 screens! In Ricochet you control SPRAT, a robot time traveller, in his quest to collect the five hourglasses from the five worlds of Ricochet.

There are the usual puzzles to solve along the way, and it all moves along very fast with some nice graphics and good sound. This one gets my vote as one of the better releases around at the moment for the Beeb.

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Well Superior just cannot resist another Play It Again Sam, can they? Here we are at number eleven in the long line of compilations from them. This one features Barbarian, Pipeline, Baron and Monsters.

Barbarian is a sword-fighting game with one or two player options. It features some excellent graphics and plenty of action with an added bit of humour to make it all the more enjoyable.

Pipeline is an arcade adventure with the usual host of puzzles to solve and a horde of nasties to avoid. The game features a smooth four way scrolling screen, nice graphics, but some nauseating background music.

Baron, the third game on the disc, has never been released before. It is an arcade adventure much like many others but not as good as most. Least said about this one the better. Last on the disc is the old Acornsoft classic Monsters. Ah, how the old memories flood back! The first time I ever clapped eyes on a Beeb, someone was playing this game on it. I bought the computer and the game on the spot! Monsters is a version of the Apple game Panic where you run along walls and up and down ladders and dig holes to trap the monsters that chase you. Simple but addictive fun.

All in all, PIAS 11 is a pretty good compilation apart from Baron. Recommended.

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Finally, we have a couple of releases from Audiogenic who had the audacity to send them to me on cassette. Grrrr!! Well, really!

Blast! is an arcade adventure where you control a spaceship inside a complex network of underground caverns. Your task is to destroy the alien defences and make your escape. Naturally, you have to cope with attacks from all kinds of marauding nasties, not to mention the anti-matter that lines the cavern walls.

A nice game this, I thought, but not that easy. If you've ever played Thrust, this has much in common and needs a good deal of manual dexterity.

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Also from Audiogenic is Fab Four Vol. 1, their answer to Superior's Play It Again Sam. This compilation comprises Peter Scott's Thunderstruck and Omega Orb, both arcade adventures that feature some excellent programming and lots of challenging puzzles.

Along with these come two re-hashes of Gary Partis' Psycastria and Sphere Of Destiny. I always found the original versions of these difficult to play. These mark 2 versions are just as awkward. Not my cup of tea I must say.

Fab Four is a reasonable compilation, but I would recommend it to the more seasoned games player.

And a very Merry Christmas to you all!