Enduro Racer (Activision) (Commodore 64)

The Spectrum conversion was brilliant, but some very mixed priorities seem to have been at work on the Commodore 64 one. The soundtrack is excellent, but the sprites are blob-like and the scrolling is jerky, leaving it good but not great.

Barbarian (Palace) (Commodore 64/128)

Although it's a bit sick, it has to be said Barbarian is a real winner. Beat-'em-ups just refuse to lie down and die and, when they are as good as this, gamers should be mightily grateful.

GLF Championship Football (Gamestar/Activision) (Commodore 64)

Will appeal to new football fans but real fanatics shouldn't expect too much from it.

The Detective (Argus Press) (Commodore 64/128)

A well-thought out and well implemented game. And it has unexpected depth.

Nemesis The Warlock (Martech) (Commodore 64)

For those of you with your heart set in Torquemada-bashing, it ain't too bad but don't expect anything new.

Killed Until Dead (Accolade/US Gold) (Commodore 64/128)

The game oozes quality in both its gameplay and graphics, and is highly recommended for all digital detectives.

Tiger Mission (Kele-Line) (Commodore 64/128)

Unless you are a true shoot-'em-up whizz, you're probably going to get frustrated pretty quickly at this not-at-all user-friendly game, while those few who are able to handle the initial challenges may soon become bored with the lack of any real progression.

Wizball (Ocean) (Commodore 64/128)

Definitely one groovy game.

Army Moves (Imagine) (Commodore 64)

Excellent graphics, tasty animation and a barrage of tunes and sound effects... You've got solid shoot-'em-up entertainment which will have you weeping with frustration as you play it again and again, determined to crack it.

Mario Bros. (Ocean) (Commodore 64/128)

Incredibly easy to pick up, the game continually opens out as you improve your tactics and joystick reactions.

Samurai Trilogy (Gremlin) (Commodore 64/128)

Samurai Trilogy is nice on the eyes in every way, holding up Gremlin's immaculate presentation record.

The Big K.O. (Tynesoft) (Commodore 64)

The Big K.O. is probably the very worst fight simulation yet to appear on the C64.

UFO (Odin) (Commodore 64/128)

Pretty uninspired graphics, stationary backgrounds, limited sound effects and squeaky disco music over the opening screen, a number of different but actually very similar levels - yeah, just what you'd expect from an average cheapo shoot-'em-up.

Frost Byte (Mikro-Gen) (Commodore 64)

A slick program that should definitely receive a look-in from platform fans.

Eagles (Hewson) (Commodore 64)

If Danish Designs can turn out more software as good as Eagles, they'll be bringing home the bacon for Hewson for some time.

Strike (Mastertronic) (Commodore 64/128)

This game has definitely reassured me than ten pin bowling does work on the computer.

Championship Baseball (Activision) (Commodore 64)

I'd have to say this one will only be wanted by baseball freaks on a rainy day. So take a rain check.

Amaurote (Mastertronic Added Dimension) (Commodore 64/128)

Lovely atmospheric music which restarts after every use of the radio, nice graphics, but not much in the way of gameplay.

Battlestar (Tynesoft) (Commodore 16/Plus 4)

The structure looks like a giant 3-D metallic spacecraft from which project the encasements, casting a shadow over the background. As you gawp in silent admiration at the beauty of it all, you will smash into the aforementioned encasements, lose all your shields and have to start again from the beginning. Good job you get five ships.

Frenesis (Mastertronic) (Commodore 16/Plus 4)

It's frantic (frenetic?) all right. But it's about as interesting as trying to fill the bath with the plug out.

Battle (Mastertronic) (Commodore 16)

If you play battleships in the free time between building Airfix kits, you'll think it's brilliant, otherwise it's a bit of a downer.

Thrust (Firebird) (Commodore 16/Plus 4)

The regrettable thing about C16 Thrust is the amount of flicker, particularly on the harder levels. I won't hark on this too much though as I still found it difficult to put down.

S.D.I. (Cinemaware) (Amiga 500)

S. D. I. is a bit like the film Top Gun; it's a treat to look at, but ideologically it's phenomenally unsound. And at the price its economics are pretty dodgy too.

Frankenstein (CRL) (Commodore 64/128)

If you like gothic horror, you are going to like Frankenstein, the adventure. Rod has again shown that the formula of going back to the original, produces an excellent piece of interactive fiction.

Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? (Eaglesoft) (Commodore 64)

This is an educational game, as well as being fun, and not too difficult. By way of a change, this makes a nice game for an adventurer to relax with.

The Big Sleaze (Piranha) (Commodore 64)

If you like a good spoof, then you'll enjoy this.

Advanced Art Studio (Rainbird) (Commodore 64/128)

A very good program indeed. All credit to Rainbird for bothering to improve an existing program and still managing to sell it reasonably cheaply. If you didn't buy the original, now's your chance.