Action Reflex (Mirrorsoft)

Although Action Reflex has some old ideas, taken as a whole, the game format seems quite original, and is lots of fun to play.

Barchou (Central Solutions)

The whole game seemed to be a case of whaaaaat hit me?

Bobby Bearing (The Edge)

Recommended to everyone, especially Marble Madness and Spindizzy freaks.

Brian The Bold (Central Solutions)

Examining and even picking up objects is met with a puzzled silence, and the pictures are simply awful (and slowly drawn to boot).

Cagara (Players)

The graphics are very boring, with only a border around most of the screens, and some very flickery characters.

Car Journey (Hill MacGibbon)

A keyboard overlay ensures ease of operation and this is a responsive game.

Cauldron II (Palace)

A very playable and addictive game.

Caverns Of Kontonia (Atlantis)

Another typical budget game, but a bit better than the usual Atlantis efforts.

Con-Quest (Mastertronic)

The game couldn't really make its mind up between an being arcade game or an adventure, and as a mixture it's terrible.

Countdown (Central Solutions)

The room descriptions are evocative and the game is well enough constructed to hold your interest for some time.

Desert Hawk (Players)

The whole look of the game is very bright and full of colour but the graphics are not well drawn and the desert scenery is not very convincing.

First Steps With The Mr. Men (Mirrorsoft)

Be careful - it is very easy for a child to press BREAK inadvertently if a Spectrum Plus is used, and this crashes the program.

Heartland (Firebird)

Lots of things combine to make this one of the better games on the Spectrum.

Hijack (Electric Dreams)

I can see myself wanting to play Hijack for a long time to come.

Kung-Fu Master (US Gold)

Each level in Kung-Fu Master is no harder than the previous one as far as I could see.

Labyrinthion (Budgie)

One of the better ones cheapo games. I'd recommend it as it's fun to play. The graphics are well drawn and detailed, especially around the screen edges.

The Last Word (Saga Systems)

As The Last Word was written to put a new angle on the wordprocessor market, it may take some getting used to, but once mastered it performs beautifully.

Luna Atac (Atlantis)

A reasonable game, but not one I'd recommend to anyone who likes a game that's immediately hookable, as it takes some persistence to get into properly.

Mafia Contract II (Atlantis)

A really good game... Some of the problems are a little easy or hackneyed but overall the game is quite a good run around.

Master Of Magic (Mastertronic)

A game which grows on you the more you get into it.

Podder (Central Solutions)

It's easy to play and requires very little brain ache to actually get started.

Pyracurse (Hewson)

Generally, this game is quite hard to get into, but if you make the effort, it's a rewarding arcade adventure.

Rebel Planet (Adventuresoft)

A good adventure by any standards, with decorative graphics, sound plot, and useful vocabulary.

Rebel Star (Firebird)

I would have expected a game of such quality to appear at a much higher price... I can find no fault with it.

Special Agent (Hill MacGibbon)

An excellent package. The graphics are very detailed and complex, but the game is fun to play, backed up by a heavily illustrated book.

Sport Of Kings (Mastertronic)

This might well appeal to racing fans, but I can't really see myself playing it for too long.

Subterranean Nightmare (US Gold)

The presentation is well up to standard and contains some very well written and meaningful instructions.

Sword And Shield (Black Knight)

A throwback to the days when strategists couldn't afford to be choosy. Nowadays we can, of course, and I suggest you choose to leave this one alone.

Tasword III (Tasman)

One look at Tasword III will take the words out of your mouth.

Toadrunner (Ariolasoft)

The game itself is infuriating: the random triple exits tend to kill you off rather suddenly and introduce a frustrating element of pot luck into the game.

A Trick Of The Tale (Central Solutions)

To begin with, this looks as if it could prove addictive, but after a few goes it's very frustrating.

The Vowels Of The Earth Part 1: Quest For A (IEC)

The colourful and attractive screen displays add to the appeal of the game, and the children I tried it out on we keen to do well.

Word Games With The Mr. Men (Mirrorsoft)

Both Mr Noisy's Word Game and Read With Mr Bounce give the child the chance to obtain a printout, and the glossy booklet contains details on how to play the games together with colourful pictures of the characters.

The Writer (Softechnics)

Any self-respecting Spectrum owner who wants a word processor should definitely go out and get The Writer.