Ace 2: The Ultimate Head To Head (Cascade)

The graphics are OK and the presentation excellent... Sadly, this is a cheap follow-up to a great original.

Agent X II (Mastertronic)

Slick title screens and average graphics don't make a game. Here the graphics are detailed and the animation attractive, but colour clash is a problem.

Anarchy (Rack-It)

There's lots of fun to be had from this cute little puzzle game - the graphics are neat - and well-coloured, and it's incredibly addictive.

Chemistry (Vision)

Though Vision markets these packages as being for the 11-to-16 age range, the science units are more suitable for older pupils taking GCSE and 16+ courses - there are only a few topics in the chemistry units with the easy C grading.

Combat School (Ocean)

Two-player mode makes the game very competitive, almost adding a new dimension... Combat School is the ideal Christmas present for weaklings and strongmen alike.

Deviants (Players)

The play area is very large and the graphics are many and varied, but still the game is disappointing.

Erik: Phantom Of The Opera (Crysys)

There's no Michael Crawford or Sarah Brightman from the stage musical to cheer this up a bit. Just a few bad sprites on a monotonous background.

German (Vision)

This is a comprehensive and interesting suite of programs which would be a useful revision aid for examination purposes, as well as helping the holidaymaker brush up on his long-forgotten school German!

Grid Iron (Top Ten)

Any money you invest in Grid Iron will be wasted.

High Frontier (Activision)

A game that's beautifully produced to what might be called arcade standards... A neat and self-contained game with a fairly short time limit.

History (Vision)

This package should be used only for short periods at a time, because there's lots of information to absorb.

Implosion (Cascade)

Just flying about killing the odd alien life form isn't much fun; I've had more fun playing Space Invaders than playing this.

Information Processing (Vision)

Complete with quizzes, the package also deals with issues such as security of information, privacy and the social implications of exploiting this technology.

Jack The Ripper (CRL)

True, there's some atmosphere when something nasty happens, but it wears off rather quickly. In actual fact, there's very little to do; your course of action is clearly mapped from beginning to end.

Jackal (Konami)

What a disappointment! The scrolling is jerky, the graphics are dismal and colour clashes all the time... And there's no playability here either.

Mask II (Gremlin Graphics)

The first "Mask" game was just another boring scrolling-background game, but in this sequel, the graphics have been excellently-drawn and colour has been used to great effect.

Match Day II (Ocean)

The best football game around. A huge improvement on the original - not only is there now a vast front end of options menus, there have been some good changes made to the gameplay.

Nihilist (Electric Dreams)

The monochromatic graphics have little detail, the scrolling is jerky and this bland, unattractive game is almost immediately forgettable.

Pegasus Bridge (PSS)

This is a solidly-designed game with an interesting scenario closely based on history... There's plenty of play in it.

Phantom Club (Ocean)

Phantom Club is presented well, but offers nothing new or exciting.

Physics (Vision)

Vision Software's three other units on physics cover energy and matter, sound and optics, and electricity and electronics, and together the four packages provide a comprehensive revision course.

Renta-Kill Rita (Mastertronic)

It's Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes... but without all the fun and excitement.

Ricochet (Firebird)

This gets addictive after a while. The Bat can go up and down as well as left and right; the freedom of movement gives an interesting game.

Riding The Rapids (Players)

Riding The Rapids is difficult and unrealistic, so give me the real river any day.

Rygar (US Gold)

You can tell just by looking at Rygar that it's a coin-op conversion - it actually looks like it wasn't written to run on a Spectrum.

Saracen (Americana)

Saracen didn't really melt my joystick - in fact, it's dead boring, very simple with crummy graphics.

Sidewalk (Infogrames)

An exciting change from the usual type of game.

Slaine (Martech)

The illustrative graphics are brilliant, and if you can ignore the input system you'll have fun. But this should have been so much better.

Star Pilot (Firebird)

It's reasonable as one-player shoot-'em-ups go, and worth a look if you're really desperate for a blast.

Star Wars (Domark)

Not to be missed...! The graphics are fast, though the lack of sound is a real loss, and the gameplay is excellent.

Stock Market (Cases)

The aim of the game is to maximise the value of your investments by buying and selling shares in up to six companies.

Write On (System)

Games paddles and joysticks can also be used with Write On, making it suitable for the physically handicapped.

Xanthius (Players)

Gosh, what pretty graphics! What a nice idea for a game! And great animation! Bit unoriginal, though. Mmmmm... the presentation isn't bad, nice scrolly message. Hang on, where's the game?