Exile (Audiogenic)

Long live Exile...! Beyond being simply a very good game, it represents the future of arcade adventures... If there's any justice, there'll be loads like it in the years to come.

Crystals Of Arborea (Silmaris)

Some nicely drawn graphics, but it just asks you to do the same sort of thing for hours on end. Dull, repetitive and ultimately pretty pointless.

Spirit Of Excalibur (Virgin)

Pretty, but unless you are prepared to make several cups of coffee while each sequence loads, forget it.

Demoniak (Palace)

A clever parser, interesting text and the odd nice graphics go some way towards reinventing the text adventure.

Gem-X (Demonware)

Luscious graphics... Impossibly lovely sound, including sampled speech that'll steal your heart away and refuse to give it back.

The Power (Demonware)

Very well put together, but for some reason it didn't really grab me, and I didn't find I had any pressing desire to get to the next level.

Nam (Domark)

A well thought out and potentially challenging wargame that's let down a bit on the technical side of things.

Quadrel (Loriciel)

Dull to look at and dull to play... Quadrel is one of the least appealing puzzle games about.

Super Cars 2 (Gremlin)

Simply too frustrating to be addictive. Nice to look at perhaps, but sadly inferior to the original game.

International Ice Hockey (Impulze)

Oh dear. With no overhead view scanner, passing is largely impossible, shooting is largely a matter of guesswork, and tackling appears to be entirely at the whim of the computer. Get Speedball 2 instead!

The Bard's Tale III (Electronic Arts)

A competent and highly playable role-player in the classic tradition.

Super Monaco GP (US Gold)

Fast and playable, but maddeningly difficult, and nothing like the coin-op. So a bit duff as a conversion.

Warlock: The Avenger (Millennium)

Easy to play but difficult to get very far into, with re-loading sequences that are actually longer than the game which precedes them.

Chuck Yeagar's Advanced Flight Trainer 2.0 (Electronic Arts)

One of the most flexible flight sims, packed with options and some fun scenarios.

Viz: The Computer Game (Virgin)

Good fun, and succeeds in capturing the comic's feel to a large degree... but that doesn't stop it being undemanding. You'll enjoy it loads, but you'll probably end up feeling cheated in the long-term.

Blazing Thunder (Hi-Tech)

A really dinky budget game. One word of warning - it's only half as much fun if your joystick doesn't autofire - but essentially we're in a moan-free zone here.

Carrier Command (Mirror Image)

Everything about Carrier Command is fab. Get out there and buy it.

CJ's Elephant Antics (Codemasters)

Control could be a smidgen more sensitive, but despite a few faults the game is actually very playable.

3D Pool (Mirror Image)

If you like the idea of computer pool, an unmissable bargain.

Forgotten Worlds (Kixx)

A fairly enjoyable, though slightly dated, arcade romp which benefits from a two-player mode.

Operation Wolf (The Hit Squad)

You know exactly what you're getting here and, within its limits, it doesn't really put a foot wrong.

Speedball (Mirror Image)

A fine game, but you'll find Speedball 2 is well worth the extra investment.

Rocket Ranger (Mirror Image)

If you've got a monumental degree of persistence you'll find a fair old strategy game in there, but frankly this is best bought as a piece of history.

Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge (The Hit Squad)

Hopelessly old fashioned waggling gameplay. Even the great man's face on the box won't help it sell.

Strike Force Harrier (Mirror Image)

A really nice game, and one that's just a bit more enjoyable to play than the usual flight sim.