Transcendence (Kronosaur Productions) (PC (Windows))

Adds quite a bit of Elite to the Star Control II/Nethack mix... Just wonderful, you really have to try this indie gaming gem.

Betiled! (Ubhres) (Spectrum 48K)

A Spectrum rendition of Popcap's ever-popular Bejeweled, not only done with flair... but with a few original ideas added to the mix.

Crownland (La Resistance) (Atari XE/XL)

Crownland may not be original in concept, but there's no arguing the fact that La Resistance have worked wonders to create such an excellent game.

Eckn (Berlin Softworks) (Atari XE/XL)

Eckn is an ugly game; the title screen is blockier than your average Vic-20 release and the in-game graphics pale in comparison to some of the other more recent Atari homebrew projects.

Electrek (Heworth Castle Creative Studios) (Amiga 500)

Platform and puzzler fans will love it, and maybe it will appeal to fans of other genres too.

Get It (Assassins' Group) (Commodore 16/Plus 4)

The non-complex yet addictive game-play, password system, cute visuals and high quality music all add up to create a piece of modern Plus/4 gaming excellence.

Iwanaga (Buster) (PC (Windows))

Buster's pixel art really shines... It's a short game, but on the hardest difficulty, it could pass for a full-length arcade game... A sophisticated piece of old-school code.

Jetboy (XXL) (Atari XE/XL)

It's clear that a lot of effort has gone into creating this Jetpac port... but the introduction of two new gauges has left Jetboy heavily flawed.

Jet Set Willy 2007 (XXL) (Atari XE/XL)

Spot on... The Atari finally has a port of JSW to be proud of. The only difference is the replacement of 'If I Were A Rich Man' by Rob Hubbard's better score from the original Tynesoft release!

Magical Drop (Amstrad CPC) (Amstrad CPC464)

There's simply too little to this game... Single player mode doesn't warrant playing more than a couple of times.

Mr. Mole (Nerlaska Studios) (MSX)

Please don't play this one...! Just a little care would have resulted in a very good Breakout game. Instead, what we have here is "Brokenout".

Paradise/RGCD Christmas Double Pack (Paradise Games)! (Game Boy Advance)

Skidoo Scarper is the newer of the two games here and the experience shows; how Chimney won and this lost the competition I have no idea.

Patrol Falcon (Staniol) (PC (Windows))

Delivers the thrills, spills and excitement of jet combat in 2D airspace more successfully than any other game I've played in a long time.

Pen-Pen Xmas Olympics (Retrospec) (PC (Windows))

I'm a sucker for retro design, and Pen-Pen Olympics features some of the best graphics that I've seen since video gaming's Golden Age.

Quantum Gardening (Cronosoft) (Spectrum 48K)

A superb game with humour and invention, a fantastic loading screen and neat touches here and there.

Racked Off (The New Dimension) (Commodore 64/128)

If this was a preview or beta release of a work in progress game then I'd be more forgiving, but as a complete game I'm sad to say that Racked Off just doesn't cut it.

Redrunner (Psytronik) (Commodore 64/128)

Grab a decent stick, wedge your thumb down on the fire button and lose yourself for a while.

Shoot 'Em (Tringi) (PC (Windows))

Graphics are a bit harsh on the eyes as you have to squint a bit to see what's going on... but it's refreshing to see a non-conformist developer experimenting with unusual game concepts.

Sokoban (Compiler Software) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

The only real 'flaw' is that Sokoban isn't a game that'll please everyone; after the first few introductory screens the block-moving puzzles start to become quite difficult - and this is where casual players might lose interest.

Star Sabre (Amstrad CPC) (Amstrad CPC464)

An accomplished game that is pretty simple to play and very enjoyable... I absolutely love it!

Tongueman's Logic (Chris Covell) (NEC TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine)

Graphics are outstanding... and Chris' demo coding background shines through with his heavy use of copper bars, warping, animated bobs and other visual effects.

Varia (Karios) (PC (Windows))

There's a good reason why this won the SHUMP-DEV 2007 competition by a clear margin.

Wizball (Chris Yates) (PC (Windows))

If you loved Wizball, play this. The animation is spot on, the graphics are some of the most beautiful 2D I've ever seen and in fact everything looks like the original version, but better.

Yoomp! (T. M. R.)

A simple idea moulded into an original, highly polished, fast-paced, visually impressive and highly enjoyable homebrew classic.