Action Force (Virgin Games)

The houses and the main character are very crude and simplistic, and the scrolling and the irritating way the bombs explode up your posterior make up a bad game with no lastability.

Angleball (Mastertronic Added Dimension)

The best snooker simulation yet!

Arena (Bug-Byte)

Though there's not much depth to the game, as a structured version of Battlezone it is reasonably entertaining.

ATV Simulator (Codemasters)

You've got to have more to a game than slick presentation.

Ball Breaker (CRL)

It's vital with Breakout-type games that the speed is kept constant and the rebound angle realistic - Ball Breaker fails on both these counts and this bad design is infuriating.

Call Me Psycho (Pirate)

A real waste of time. The program is full of bugs and the gameplay is pathetic. Looks like a homemade job, and a very bad one at that.

Centurions (Reaktor)

Centurions just doesn't work on the Spectrum; all the things that could go wrong have. Colour couldn't have been used in a more haphazard way - there's clash everywhere.

Dizzy (Codemasters)

An appealing game with enough puzzles to keep your interest going for a while.

Future Tense (Mystic)

The first striking thing about Future Tense is its friendly and welcoming writing style, both in the instructions and in the game itself. This contrasts nicely with a rather dire view of the future.

Holiday In Sumaria (Pirate)

Utter dross... Everything is appalling: sound, graphics, playability, absolutely everything.

Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (US Gold)

The great colour and graphics of the arcade game cover up the actual gameplay, but with the spectrum conversion the gameplay is the first thing you notice. And it's not impressive.

Jack The Nipper II: In Coconut Capers (Gremlin Graphics)

A fantastic follow-up to Jack The Nipper with plenty of playability... Snap it up while you can.

Karyssia: Queen Of Diamonds (Incentive)

Although the pretty 3D graphics are thin on the ground, the plot, which unwinds along three separately-loading parts, holds the attention marvellously.

Mystery Of The Nile (Firebird)

A very simple problem solving game, the better for the quick flick-screen technique, and it certainly has character - though its lastability is doubtful.

Outcast (CRL)

The on-screen animation - stars, branches of trees - is quite pretty, but frustratingly you can play for ages without getting anywhere.

Park Patrol (Firebird)

The graphics are nothing to write home about, and the only enjoyable things in Park Patrol are the lovable characters - but even these lack variety.

Professional Ski Simulator (Codemasters)

Once the controls have been mastered, Professional Ski Simulator is an enjoyable and difficult maze game, though it offers little long-term interest.

The Prospector/The Crown Of Ramhotep (Tartan)

Like all utility adventures, The Prospector and The Crown Of Ramhotep are competent and there are few distractions from solving the puzzles.

Red L.E.D. (Starlight)

The intricate landscape layouts require a speedy yet controlled movement.

Smash Out!! (Pirate)

The 16k Thru The Wall looks like a masterpiece in technical achievement compared to this tommyrot.

Supernova (Players)

Recommended. The presentation's great; a good tune plays throughout the game, nice screen layout and some pretty graphics help.

Super Sprint (Electric Dreams)

The graphics are small and, though the game is quite playable, I didn't find it very addictive.

Thundercats (Elite)

Wow! Thundercats is brilliant.

Thunderceptor/The Fast And The Furious (Go!)

Though The Fast... is quite original, I doubt this game will appeal to the budding arcade player for long.

Trantor: The Last Stormtrooper (Go!)

Trantor would have been much better if Probe Software had spent as much time on the concept as they obviously did on the graphics and animation.

War Cars Construction Set (Firebird)

Incredibly simple but extremely compelling - to begin with. The appeal starts to wear off when you realise that the maze layout doesn't change once you've collected your six flags.

White Heat (Codemasters)

Desperately trying to be an addictive shoot-'em-up... but fails pitifully.

Xor (Logotron)

Despite poor scrolling, Xor isn't as bad as it might first strike you; the graphics are big and quite colourful, and the gameplay soon grows in attraction and addlctivity.

Yes, Prime Minister (Mosaic)

I'd recommend Yes, Prime Minister only to fans of the TV show, and then purely as a collector's item.