Family Programs (Shards) (Dragon 32)

Good value considering the number of programs you get on one tape.

Athlete (Buffer Micro Limited) (Spectrum 48K)

A good game, written partly in BASIC and partly in machine code.

Word Olympics (English) (Atari 400/800)

This multi-skill level game demands sharp reactions and a good knowledge of words. It's a good idea but it soon gets boring.

Heathrow Air Traffic Control (Hewson Consultants) (Commodore 64)

The manual suggests that the demonstration mode should be entered and followed through, so as to get a feeling of the way in which the aircraft should be guided down.

Beaky And The Eggsnatchers (Fantasy) (Spectrum 48K)

A great deal of thought has been put into this game and it shows in all the detail.

Toolkit (IMS Software) (Oric 48K)

The program is of excellent quality and is very useful.

Micro Olympics (Database) (Spectrum 48K)

An enjoyable game, which is similar to Track And Field. However, running is very hard because the Spectrum's keyboard is not really suited to all the bashing that is required.

Decor Wreckers (Scorpio Software) (Spectrum 48K)

An excellent package... I found myself playing it over and over again.

Archipelago (Talent) (Commodore 64)

A very addictive game... Getting past the first screen proved to be more difficult than it seemed.

Lionel And The Ladders (Intrigue) (TI99/4A)

This game is stylishly packaged with full instructions... It's challenging, although somewhat constrained by the TI Basic.

Teddy (Supersoft) (Commodore 64)

The graphics and sound effects are good and the game has a brilliant high score table.

Mined Out (Quicksilva) (Oric 48K/Atmos)

The idea is simple, the game fairly addictive and is best suited to family participation. The arcade fanatic would be best advised to look for something more challenging.

Reichswald (Scorpio Gamesworld) (Spectrum 48K)

A well engineered program, and more convenient than the board games available for the wargames enthusiast.

Velnor's Lair (Quicksilva) (Oric 48K/Atmos)

Well done, Quicksilva, on this well-crafted D&D adventure!

Mysterious Fairground (Buffer Micro Limited) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

An exciting game with many taxing challenges... Unfortunately, once you have mastered this adventure, you will quickly lose interest for the situations you find yourself in become familiar and easy to conquer.

Star Trader (Bug Byte) (Spectrum 48K)

Improves with play as you learn the tricks of rapid trade to help avoid the tedious process of refreshment.

The Valley (Argus Press) (Spectrum 48K)

To obtain the highest rank possible, you must collect treasures, fight monsters and venture through perils such as swamps, woods, temples, Vounim's lair and the Black Tower.

New Venture (Falcon Computing) (Spectrum 48K)

Intellectually stimulating with many entertaining features - a good insight into the finance of shopkeeping.

Factory Breakout (Poppysoft) (Spectrum 48K)

Very addictive and plays superbly... Both graphics and sound are excellent.

Arena 3000 (Microdeal) (Oric 48K/Atmos)

I've got nothing to say about this. It holds no interest, it's not addictive, it's poorly thought-out and it uses none of the potential of the Oric.

Grab It (Voyager) (Commodore 64)

The game has a two player option, giving each player three lives, alternating between players at the loss of each life.

Swoop (Micro Power) (Commodore 64)

There are four levels of difficulty, each requiring the survival of eight sheets before the next level of difficulty is reached.

Felix In The Factory (Micro Power) (Commodore 64)

The type of game that could be compared to that of Monsters for the BBC computer, with the difference that the level of decreasing oil has to be replenished rather than oxygen.

Cassette 50 (Cascade) (Commodore 64)

For the price of a single arcade game, this collection of games may not have the same addictive appeal but it does provide a little something extra than just entertainment.

Composer (Sector 7) (Oric 48K)

Has to be one of the best utility cassettes currently available for the Oric-1 48K and certainly provides value for money.

Deathstar (Amazing Games) (Spectrum 48K)

An uninspiring version of a good idea... I certainly would not buy it, as I consider it very poor value for money and of dubious entertainment value.

Cybertron Mission (Micro Power) (Commodore 64)

A conversation from the BBC version - and this C64 game bears a very close resemblance to it.

Metagalactic Llamas Battle At The Edge Of Time (Llamasoft) (Commodore Vic 20)

This is a difficult-yet-addictive game with a simple and uncluttered screen layout that should give hours of frustrating entertainment.

Chess II (Tansoft) (Oric 48K)

An excellent game: good graphics, nice screen display and speech make it one of the best offerings for the Oric machines.

Advance To Mayfair (Amazing Games) (Spectrum 48K)

A challenging, high quality product, and the original strategy, which is not lost by the conversion to computer, makes a welcome change to arcade games.

Fun-Pacs 2 And 3 (Virgin Games) (TI99/4A)

All the Fun-Pacs represent reasonable value for money, but are not awe inspiring.

Beamrider (Activision) (Intellivision)

I'm afraid this is one of those games where the instruction manual makes it sound more exciting than it actually is.

River Raid (Activision) (Intellivision)

I found this verison much more exciting than the Intellivision one. The Intellivision River Raid is easier to play though.

Beamrider (Activision) (Coleco Vision Games System)

Yet another 'zap the baddies' game with some outstanding qualities.