Xenon (Melbourne House) (Amiga 500)

In five years of reviewing computer games, this is the best shoot-'em-up I've ever played.

Spy Vs. Spy (Databyte) (Atari ST)

Not a bad two-player game. The original Spy Vs. Spy game is well worth considering... Episodes two and three are not that different to the first.

Black Lamp (Firebird) (Atari ST)

The best game I've seen so far from Firebird. In Jack, they've got a neat character we could be seeing more of.

Super Sprint (Electric Dreams) (Atari ST)

Fans of the coin-op will welcome this competent conversion to the Atari ST library.

Bravestarr (Go!) (Amstrad CPC464)

A series of enjoyable sideways scrolling arcade sequences, strung together by a thin plot, providing little or no long-term challenge.

Mach 3 (Loriciels) (Amstrad CPC464)

A very strong shoot-'em-up.

Winter Olympiad 88 (Tynesoft) (Atari ST)

The pretty graphics do not compensate from a basic lack of gameplay.

Eco (Ocean) (Atari ST)

A beautifully conceived and implemented piece of software, that is not only fun to play, but could also be used to illustrate Darwin's theories of evolution in the biology classroom.

Catch 23 (Martech) (Atari ST)

Catch 23's mixture of strategy and arcade, not to mention some pretty nifty sampled speech, should appeal to a wide spectrum of gamers.

Terramex (Grandslam) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Not the most original game but let's hope it's a portent of good games to come from Argus/Quicksilva.

Captain Blood (Exxos) (Amiga 500)

If you don't mind spending some considerable time zooming all over the galaxy before you find even your first clone, and fancy a graphical treat, check out Captain Blood.

Mini Putt (Accolade) (Commodore 64/128)

Mini Putt is fun to begin with, but the overall challenge soon fades and the multi-load (on the tape version) soon becomes a bit of a pain.

Platoon (Ocean) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Ocean has made a competent job of what appeared to be one of the most difficult films to turn into a game.

Traz (Gamebusters) (Spectrum 48K)

Variety prevents boredom... The screens are all inventive, from tropical trees to adverts for Ace II and the nice part is that you don't start on the same screen each time.

Subbattle Simulator (Epyx) (Commodore 64/128)

This has clearly been put on the market before it was ready. It shows the ocean when you are on dry land or, even worse, almost on top of an enemy ship. In fact, the program is almost unplayable!

ATV Simulator (Codemasters) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Brings together all the essential elements of motorbike cross-country scrambling... and then proceeds to become one of the worst simulations I have ever seen.

Zybex (Zeppelin Games) (Commodore 64/128)

A pretty tough shoot-'em-up... It's a pretty good game by anyone's standards.

Nigel Mansell (Martech) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Gives you a taste of life in the fast lane. There are sixteen race tracks for you to select from or you take them one-by-one to try and become world champ.

Dan Dare II (Virgin Games) (Spectrum 48K)

Although quite playable in a fairly unoriginal way, I feel that the game concept has a lot more to offer than the actual game achieves.

International Karate Plus (System 3) (Amstrad CPC464)

The background graphics and the animation of the fighters are really neat. If you fancy beating up your Amstrad, then this is just the game to do it.

Roadwars (Melbourne House) (Spectrum 48K)

The graphics are well drawn and smoothly animated and the whole package is very slick, but in the overcrowded market of shoot-'em-ups, this is not one that stands out.

The Krypton Factor (TV Games) (Amstrad CPC464)

For faithful TV fans only. The programme isn't really a suitable subject for a computer game. It's too much of a mishmash of tests, skills, intelligence and strength to form a comprehensive game.

Jetbike Simulator (Codemasters) (Amstrad CPC464)

I'm sure Jetbike racing is probably one of the most exciting water sports. However, Jetbike Simulator is not one of the most exciting of computer games.

Beneath Folly (The Fiend) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

The graphics are simple, but only the simple-minded would ignore them or dismiss them.

The Case Of The Mixed Up Shymer (Atlas Adventure) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

To score points in this text adventure, you have to make the nursery rhymes come true. That's not really my particular cup of tea, but if you like the idea, then you should enjoy the game, for it is competently written, and performs well.

Ronnie Goes To Hollywood (8th Day) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

A highly amusing adventure, complemented by a few pictures. A novel presentation system is used to operate the White House computer terminal too.

After Burner (Sega) (Sega Master System (EU Version))

A mind-blowing arcade flight simulator... This is the big one... This is absolutely brilliant.