Operation Thunderbolt (Ocean)

Brilliant is the only way to describe Operation Thunderbolt.

Moonwalker (US Gold)

A strange film, and an even stranger licence. Looks good, but makes virtually no sense at all.

Turbo Out Run (US Gold)

Competent but dull. It's not the disaster its predecessor was. Nevertheless, recent racing games leave it stalled on the line.

Ghouls And Ghosts (Capcom)

Lacks visual appeal, but curiously fun to play.

Altered Beast (Activision)

Nice music, and the graphics would be great too if they moved properly. Plays, alas, like an absolute dog.

Ghostbusters II (Activision)

Great gameplay and graphics... At last the Ghostbusters have come of age and star in a game worthy of their name.

Cabal (Ocean)

Great fun when you're in the mood for a massacre, but not the sort of game to keep you enthralled for hours.

Knight Force (Titus)

All very pretty, but what about the game? You die too easily and there's too much disk access.

Pictionary (Domark)

Pictionary ought to be hindered by the complicated nature of the art package, but that actually makes it more fun.

Fantasy World Dizzy (Codemasters)

Better than many full-price releases... Puzzles are more cunning than ever, but are counterbalanced by the addition of more lives, which encourages experimentation.

After The War (Dinamic)

Wickedly good graphics, large sprites and fast action give War its edge: the hand-to-hand is intense, the firepower explosive. But it's maybe too hard in places.

Tintin On The Moon (Infogrames)

Infogrames has followed the Tintin licence so well that it has served up a game with brilliant animation but no plot. Thunderin' typhoons, what a waste!

Lost Caves (Players)

Spiced up with a liberal dash of tongue-in-cheek fun, and given pace by the falling boulders and joggers.

Australian Rules Football (Again Again)

Good looking, with nice touches like the frantic pop-up TV commentator and whistle. Tiny pitch though, and occasionally indecisive control.

Wizard Willy (Codemasters)

The parallax scrolling looks really stunning, providing a uniqueness that gives it the edge over other platform games.

The Official Father Christmas (Alternative)

All in a good cause, but you'll need to be young to enjoy this one. It's very easy to finish.

100% Dynamite (Ocean)

A great compilation that brings you a new game and three established hits; there's enough variety here to keep any gamesplayer quite for weeks.

Epyx Action (Epyx)

A good package, it still lacks that single star title to give the whole group purpose.

Winners (US Gold)

A solid and varied compilation of arcade (style) games that rely on quick reactions and little brainwork.

Toobin (Tengen)

Retains one vital ingredient that seems to be missing from so many other games - sheer playability.

Scapeghost (Level 9)

Scapeghost is original, has a great parser, atmospheric text, beautiful graphics and some wicked puzzles.

The Tolkien Trilogy (Beau-Jolly)

If you haven't got these adventures, don't think twice - buy 'em!