Melbourne Draw (Melbourne House)

This is really something special. It offers you enormous power and flexibility for a very reasonable price - and it doesn't even need a lightpen, let alone a mouse.

Personal Assistant (FMP Business Software)

Falls short of the mark of professional software. Buy Mini Office II instead.

Car Cure (Simtron)

Obviously a lot of effort has gone into the data for this program. But you just can't get at it the way you need to.

New Word (New Star Software)

Bullseye (Macsen)

I enjoyed the dart throwing... It still has some flaws in that it will become repetitive but there seems plenty of variety in the questions.

Tau-Ceti (CRL)

Action, great graphics and real staying power - it's a winner.

Strike Force Harrier (Mirrorsoft)

The best flight simulator/air combat game yet.

Battlefront (Central Solutions)

Pretty old-fashioned as war games now go, but it does have the design-your-own battle facility and the price is attractive.

Costa Capers (Firebird)

Very dull, very tired and vastly overpriced.

Cylu (Firebird)

Attractive screens and colour... The puzzle element adds nicely to the game.

Deathsville (Bubble Bus)

A large, well-animated main character... Colourful backgrounds and screen design.

Battle Of The Planets (Mikro-Gen)

The task is limited, the combat uninspiring, the game as a whole badly lacking in imagination.

Three Weeks In Paradise (Mikro-Gen)

Excellent use of colour and animation... Plenty of difficult tasks to complete.

Desert Rats (Cases)

A massive full game that will keep you busy for weeks... Excellent instructions with historical notes.

Rasputin (Firebird)

Beautiful and deviously designed rooms plus a tremendously tough long term task - will it ever be completed?

Barchou (Central Solutions)

Rotten collision-detection and a boring task. The only thing that can be said for it is it's cheap.

Surprise Surprise (Central Solutions)

Very dull indeed... The only surprise about this game is how it can be so bad.

Blockbusters/Blockbusters Gold Run (Macsen)

This isn't actually a good quiz. Some of the questions are reasonably intriguing, but there aren't that many of them.

Big League Soccer 2 (Viper)

If you're a football fan this is a must. If you're not, give it a look anyway.

Working Backwards (Design Design)

The four games together represent fantastic value and anybody in search of fast, addictive action should look no further.

Strangeloop Plus (Virgin Games)

250 great graphic rooms... Will keep you hooked and guessing for ages.

The Beer Hunter (Global)

Some of the locations were quite amusing... but I neither fell off my seat laughing nor gripped my Amstrad in suspense.

The Secret Of St. Brides (Audiogenic/St. Bride's)

Slow, lacking in vocabulary, occasionally very difficult to solve without a hint but also totally original, often amusing, and definitely a game for anyone who fancies a lark or two.

Mansion (Central Solutions)

On balance, I'm inclined to think that, at £1.99, this game is seriously over-priced.

Theseus (Anthony Collins)

You are certain to die within a couple of minutes unless you're particularly clever, and this can be very discouraging.