Biggles (Mirrorsoft) (Spectrum 48K)

Speed, agility, cunning and logical thought are the true armoury which Biggles demands.

Knight Games (English) (Amstrad CPC464)

Each event features superb animation on incredible backdrops with each screen completed by the wax that dribbles down the burning candle.

World Cup Carnival (US Gold) (Commodore 16)

A slightly enhanced version of the classic World Cup or World Cup 2 from Artic.

Leaderboard (US Gold) (Amstrad CPC464)

Easy to play and will appeal more to non-golfers. It's a bit like comparing golf to pitch and putt. They're both good games but one's easier for beginners.

Soccer 86 (Loriciels/Activision) (Amstrad CPC464)

A very good football game... Goal kicks, corners and throw-ins are all handled with no real problems, although I did find controlling the goalie a bit difficult.

Rock 'N Wrestle (Melbourne House) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Although the gameplay is all here, the action seems slower than some other 8-bit versions... The graphics are a poor shadow of both the Amstrad and C64 versions with the wrestlers mere silhouettes on a colour background.

Tennis 3D (Activision) (Amstrad CPC464)

A very good game... You can't go much to liven up a game like this, but Loriciels have tried their best.

Winter Games (US Gold) (Amstrad CPC464)

This Amstrad conversion actually features graphics (particularly the background) that are better than the original C64 game.

International Match Day (Ocean) (Spectrum 128K)

A good enhancement of the original Match Day... better graphics, added sound and added features. Excellent.

Sai Combat (Mirrorsoft) (Amstrad CPC464)

A slight derivative of the usual run-of-the-mill type of game that these combat games usually are.

Nexus (Nexus) (Commodore 64)

This is one of the most intriguing games since Impossible Mission. Will give you hours of enjoyment on your Commodore 64.

Mercenary (Novagen) (Commodore 64/Plus 4)

An excellent game for the Plus/4 and one of the few that aren't just small C16 games. A must for any Plus/4 owner.

Bombo (Rino) (Commodore 64)

This is essentially Bombjack under another name, and there's no C64 version of Bombjack yet. It's very good. I wonder if the real Bombjack will recover from this early onslaught.

The Comet Game (Firebird) (Spectrum 48K)

The game's graphics are nothing startling and this would really only be an average budget game. At £7.95, I think that it is grossly over-priced.

Spy Hunter (US Gold) (BBC Model B)

An excellent game... The conversion sticks close to the original coin-op favourite with oil slicks, smoke, rockets and helicopters, machine guns, boats, etc.

Splitting Images (Domark) (Spectrum 48K)

A highly original and thoroughly enjoyable game.

The Dam Busters (US Gold) (Amstrad CPC464)

Flight simulators always get indifferent reviews in the computer press, but The Dam Busters has some point to it rather than just to fly around in circles.

Commando (Elite) (Amstrad CPC464)

A good conversion of the coin-op game.

The Fifth Axis (Activision/Loriciels) (Amstrad CPC464)

The graphics are very good and fast... The little man is superbly animated... Challenging as well as good to play.

The Planets (Martech) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

A strange game. Some people will love it on sight, whilst others will find it totally unappealing. Try before you buy.

Bombjack (Elite) (Amstrad CPC464)

A good conversion of a great game. Gameplay seems to be slightly easier as I managed to score much more than I usually do on the Spectrum game, which leads me to suspect that it may be easier to play.

Moon Cresta (Incentive) (BBC Model B)

A terrible version, this. The graphics are bad, the game is sluggish, and there are bugs in the alien movement.

Action Reflex (Mirrorsoft) (Spectrum 48K)

A tricky game to perfect... A misjudged bounce will no doubt rebound onto a flame or ball crusher.

Mermaid Madness (Electric Dreams) (Spectrum 48K)

Despite the amusing scenario and the wonderfully hideous Myrtle, the game is little more than a maze game in which you must find and collect objects while avoiding the marine nasties.

Shogun (Virgin) (Commodore 64)

The gameplay resembles Virgin's Sorcery... Treachery plays a large part in the game too.

Starquake (Bubble Bus) (Amstrad CPC464)

A very good game with a lot of challenge in it.

The Last V8 (Mastertronic) (Commodore 128)

Definitely one of the better games on the C64, this improved version of The Last V8 is now (almost by default) the best game on the C128.

Toadrunner (Ariolasoft) (Amstrad CPC464)

The graphics are up to the standard that is beginning to be expected on the Amstrad, with colourful characters and smooth animation. Some of the puzzles are extremely devious too.

Molecule Man (Mastertronic) (Spectrum 48K)

Highly recommended. If Mastertronic continue to put out titles of this quality at such a cheap price, the rest of the industry will have an awful lot of worrying to do.

The Price Of Magik (Level 9) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Supports a vocabulary of over 1,000 words and the parser will understand some quite complex sentences.

The Standing Stones (Ariolasoft/Electronic Arts) (Commodore 64/128)

Your quest, brave adventurer, is simple - retrieve the grail. Unfortunately you will have to battle your way through 15 levels of monster packed dungeons before you'll even get a glimpse of it.

Pentagram (Ultimate) (Spectrum 48K)

If you enjoy this type of 3D arcade adventure, then you will no doubt want to rush out and get this one, but otherwise, I would look instead at some of more original games that are on offer at the moment.

Bored Of The Rings (CRL) (Commodore 64)

Bored we may be, but boring this ain't.

Knight Tyme (Mastertronic Added Dimension) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

A very attractive game with large, colourful graphics.

The Boggit (CRL) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

The humour in this sequel seems forced. Whilst Bored Of The Rings' jokes used to be snappy one liners, here you get pages of the stuff at once and it doesn't work nearly so well.

Murder On The Mississippi (Activision) (Commodore 64)

Superb graphics show our would-be heroes on just one of the boat's four decks which contain 24 rooms.

Heavy On The Magick (Gargoyle Games) (Amstrad CPC464)

Another winner from Gargoyle and one that is likely to bring even more success than their cult celt games Tir Na Nog and Dun Darach.

Mandragore (Infogrames) (Amstrad CPC464)

It looks graphically poor and the command structure takes some getting used to... but for anyone willing to put up with that, there is a very good game inside waiting to be played.

Gunfright (Ultimate) (MSX)

Games like this make the MSX really come alive... This pantomime horse is guaranteed to make you smile!

Shadowfire (Beyond) (Amstrad CPC464/664/6128)

One of the best games around... There have been many attempts to copy the style, but few have been anywhere near as successful.

Pyracurse (Hewson) (Spectrum 48K)

Pyracurse is a fascinating game that captures the atmosphere of exploration.