Weird Dreams (Rainbird) (Amiga 500)

Part of the reward in playing any arcade adventure is to find out what graphical delight is locked behind the next door. I have a feeling that gamers are going to discover Weird Dreams' secrets a little bit too quickly.

Federation Of Free Traders (Gremlin Graphics) (Amiga 500)

A real chore to play... I'm afraid the programmers haven't realised that, the more complex you make a game, the more effort you have to put into making it easy to operate.

Populous (Electronic Arts) (Amiga 500)

Divine in every sense of the word.

Denaris (Rainbow Arts) (Amiga 500)

One of those scrolling shoot-'em-up games in which you have to learn where the next wave of nasties is coming from, as it's very dangerous to be caught out of position.

Titan (Titus) (Amiga 500)

Dull, boring, badly programmed, unplayable, graphically and sonically average.

Vindicators (Domark) (Amstrad CPC464)

Excellent gameplay with great graphics, sound and playability combining to give one of the best games available on the Amstrad and ST.

Sword Of Sodan (Discovery) (Amiga 500)

Anyone in the market for a playable, visually and sonically impressive game would go well to check this out.

Chase (Mastertronic) (Amiga 500)

The vector graphics are smooth and fast, and the 3D update convincing, especially in the tunnel sequence, but in the end they're wasted on what's an ultimately shallow and tedious game.

Space Harrier (Elite) (Amiga 500)

There are no real rules here - which is one reason I am so keen on it. It is an entirely unpretentious computer game full of weird and wacky nasties.

Hybris (Discovery) (Amiga 500)

Quite simply the answer to the 16-bit shoot-'em-up fans' prayers.

Leisure Suit Larry II (Sierra) (Amiga 500)

A superb piece of all-round entertainment, particularly, but not exclusively, suited to adventure players.

Deadenders (Top Ten) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

An adventure with a rather poor vocabulary. It shows off the GAC's gaspingly long response time to unrecognised words.

Faery Tale Adventure (Microillusions) (Commodore 64)

Yesterday's technology, yesterday's game. A combination of boring plot, uninteresting graphics, a frustrating command system, and instructions written by an incompetent, led me to turn off the C64 before I suffered irreparable brain damage.

Cyborg Hunter (Sega) (Sega Master System (EU Version))

Cyborg Hunter isn't the most original game around, but it is addictive and challenging, with a large map to explore and plenty of robots to reduce to scrap metal.

Mach Rider (Nintendo) (Nintendo (US Version))

Mach Rider isn't totally dire - it just isn't good enough to justify its massive price tag. The gameplay is fun for a while, but doesn't hold your attention long enough.

Baseball (Nintendo) (Nintendo (US Version))

Ardent Baseball fans will doubtless glean some enjoyment out of this, but I'd personally wait for a better version of the sport to be released before rushing out with my dosh.

Gradius (Konami) (Nintendo (US Version))

Don't let this beauty escape you...! As well as packing in all the features of the coin-op, Konami have added plenty of their own in the form of cheats and hidden bonuses.

Space Harrier (NEC) (PC Engine (EU Version)/TurboGrafix-16 (US Version))

The game doesn't just look pretty - it also plays brilliantly too. In fact, I think the PC Engine version is a tad more playable than the coin-op original! What higher recommendation can I give?

Dragon Spirit (NEC) (PC Engine (EU Version)/TurboGrafix-16 (US Version))

A superlative shoot-'em-up... The graphics are simply gorgeous, with plenty going on and not a flicker in sight.

Vigilante (NEC) (PC Engine (EU Version)/TurboGrafix-16 (US Version))

It's not top of my PC Engine software shopping list, but any beat-'em-up fan should check out Vigilante without delay.