The Advanced OCP Art Studio (OCP)

Dimitri Koveos is responsible for the 128K extensions and has done a worthwhile addition to Mark Hutchby's original program. It makes a desirable program even more desirable.

Airline (Cases)

If you succeed in reaching the target of £30 million, then perhaps Richard Branson may have a rival!

Amaurote (Binary Design)

Full of little features - the 'Radio' being the best of them - and it has lots of content.

Auf Wiedersehen Monty (Gremlin)

A fine continuation of the long-standing Monty Mole theme.

Battlefield Germany (PSS)

This game is dull, unwieldy and dry, and it certainly doesn't work for me.

Big Trouble In Little China (Electric Dreams)

This isn't a particularly amazing game; the graphics are only adequate, but the playability is there and there's a few hours enjoyable scrapping to be had.

Brainache (Codemasters)

Codemasters have the cheek to put 'Why pay more?' on the loading screen. After you'd tried this game, I think you can probably answer that one for yourself.

Corn Cropper (Cases)

Certainly drives home the point that farming is a highly technical and specialised industry!

Cyrox (The Power House)

Run-of-the-mill graphics offer fairly smooth animation, a few nicely drawn characters and lots of tasteless colours. I enjoyed playing it for a while.

Doc The Destroyer (Melbourne House)

The idea of having Doc's face to convey the characters' emotional responses to your actions is a good one, and that remains the single best aspect.

Enduro Racer (Activision)

One of the most addictive race games you'll ever see on the Spectrum.

Grange Hill (Argus Press)

The inability to save your position just before an untimely deaths results in much monotonous repetition of routes you've already mastered.

How To Be A Hero (Mastertronic Added Dimension)

Given that this is effectively three games, How To Be A Hero offers reasonable value, but it's a package I wouldn't recommend.

Kinetik (Firebird)

The gravitational effect is absolutely brilliant... just crossing a screen is a fight between player and computer! The graphics are very smooth and well animated, with the only problem being that the same nasties appear on most of the screens.

Knucklebusters (Melbourne House)

I don't think that Knucklebusters will get very far. The title tune is very original, but listening to it is the only real pleasure to be gained from this program.

Kobyashi Naru (Mastertronic)

A superb piece of microcomputer programming.

Koronis Rift (Activision)

The graphics are a bit of a problem; too much colour has been put into the very detailed characters, generating a flickery and messy screen.

Krakout (Gremlin)

The graphics are all right, the sound isn't too bad and the options on bat and ball speed are a nice touch - but they don't help the overall feel.

Manage (Cases)

Although no detailed financial knowledge is required, it is assumed that players will be able to assimilate the fairly detailed information supplied.

Martianoids (Ultimate)

Martianoids lacks the gameplay and general 'finish' that we've come to expect from Ultimate. Don't buy it because of the name.

Matt Lucas (Players)

Small niggles apart, Matt Lucas is a really fine game for the asking price.

Nemesis The Warlock (Martech)

A slightly above average platform hack-'em-up, with the added attraction of a big name licence.

Nemesis (Konami)

The graphics are reasonably good, the backgrounds and enemy craft are nicely designed and animated, but it's a pity that your ship flickers so much.

Nether Earth (Argus Press)

Generally, Argus Press games severely lack gameplay and content. Nether Earth does a lot to change this though, being a strange mix of strategy and action that works surprisingly well.

Oligopoly (Cases)

If you think you have entrepreneurial skills, try them out with Oligopoly!

Print Shop (Cases)

Print Shop certainly tests your business acumen to the full, and creates a feeling of true involvement in the world of commerce.

The Professional Adventure Writer (Gilsoft)

A professional's aid, even if only for developing games for later coding. I found the program exciting and I'm also excited by its possible achievements.

Psi 5 Trading Company (US Gold)

The concept is brilliant, with stacks of potential for a mega-game, but US Gold's version is far from that. Essentially, it's fun, but I think my general feeling, coming away from it, is one of disappointment.

Rasterscan (Mastertronic)

The ball moves smoothly, and some of the scenery, like the cassette recorder, and the hand which you start upon, is really nice. I enjoyed it, except for the occasional crash.

Sceptre Of Baghdad (Atlantis)

This is a steal... The graphics are very attractive and colourful, and though there are problems in this area, they're not bad enough to put you off.

The Sentinel (Firebird)

So playable that you go into it for the first time and come out in a trance!

Short Circuit (Ocean)

One of the best film licences for ages and represents great value with the inclusion of its two very different games.

Star Raiders II (Electric Dreams)

Why Electric Dreams ever bought this is a complete mystery to me, it's one of the most boring games that I've ever seen.

Super-Power (Cases)

A detailed understanding of political theory is a pre-requisite for the successful tackling of this program, but it is useful in extending a student's depth of understanding.

The Sidney Affair (Infogrames)

A superb idea but I'm not totally convinced it has been presented that well on the Spectrum.

Throne Of Fire (Melbourne House)

The lack of difficulty drastically spoils the gameplay of what could easily have been a smash hit.

Thrust II (Firebird)

Suffers from some of the worst scrolling of any Spectrum arcade game, and the graphics are small and not particularly eye-opening.

Time Flight (The Power House)

A conversion from the BBC on our Spectrums? No, thanks! The graphics are absolutely abysmal, with the appalling use of colour making the planes almost invisible on some levels.

Tobruk 1942 (PSS)

The game has a bit of a hook in its very smoothness and simplicity of objective, but despite the strategic trimmings of the command phase, there's nothing in it to satisfy for more than an afternoon.

Tomb Of Syrinx (The Power House)

I had no fun at all playing this as it seemed to be a very ordinary idea which was badly programmed.

Transmuter (Codemasters)

I usually like shoot-'em-ups, consequently I enjoyed my first few games of Transmuter - this didn't last long though. The more I progressed, and the more add-ons I collected, the more infuriating it became to lose a life and have to restart.

Trivial Pursuit: Question Packs 1 & 2 (Domark)

Whether you're a baby boomber or a baby boomer's baby, or whether you drive a pram or an XR3i, Domark have something to keep you guessing.

World Games (US Gold/Epyx)

It seems like an eternity waiting for each game to load, and when it does it isn't really worth the wait.

Colony (Bulldog)

Colony is no fun to play at all. The game's idea is boring and repetitive, so its attraction wears off fast.