ThrustBurst (Ptoing) (PC (Windows))

It's genius and mere words cannot do it justice, so grab hold of it and prepare to wave goodbye to your life for the next three decades.

3D Starstrike (Urban Interactive) (PC (Windows))

An awesome remake... Star Wars and Starstrike fans around the world can re-live those epic battles of their youth in this updated version of a classic game.

8Bit Killer (Locomalito) (PC (Windows))

The graphics give a magnificently authentic retro atmosphere... Topped off by a melodious array of bliptastic chip tunes and tinny sound effects, your trip into FPS yesteryear is complete.

Animal Party (Caillahuz) (Atari XE/XL)

Isn't particularly fun to play in comparison to a real game of Whack-A-Mole... the concept doesn't convert to the screen well enough to justify playing it.

Bob Fossil's Sudokuniverse (Reservoir Gods) (Atari ST)

The first proper and intelligently designed Atari ST Sudoku game... and also gives the otherwise unexciting puzzler some much needed humour and style.

Crocodingus In Cube Island (MadPxl) (Nintendo DS)

If D-pad support had been incorporated, the game would be far more enjoyable and intuitive to play, but as it stands it's both tiresome and at times frustrating.

Destructivator (Pug Fugly Games) (PC (Windows))

Play this game and I guarantee you'll be entertained for more than a few minutes - frustrated too, yes, but you'll be having far too much fun to walk away.

Diagonal Ball (Iceout Games) (Commodore 64)

Even if you're a die-hard fan of Breakout games, you're unlikely to get more than a few minutes of enjoyment from Iceout's take on the genre.

Droid Assault (PuppyGames) (PC (Windows))

A well designed and balanced game, let down by a distinct lack of documentation other than a basic in-game 'help' screen.

Farmer Jack 2 & 3 (Cronosoft) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Essentially a score-attack game - your points increase as you collect coins, but decrease as the enemies collect the coins. Kudos to Bob for creating the only game with archaeologists as the enemy.

Follia NBA (Saimobvq) (Amiga 500)

You really have to put in a lot of thought to complete some of the levels, and playing it on the shortest time limit (three minutes) is a challenge and a half.

Harpooned (Conor) (PC (Windows))

It's by equal measure sad, fun and an absolutely commendable way to make an important political point.

Jihad (Manic Mailman Designs) (Commodore 64)

There's nothing like a game with a steep learning curve to challenge a player and sadly, there's also nothing like a game with a steep learning curve to put a player off.

Lead 8K (Simone Serra) (Atari 2600)

Lead delivers great gameplay and impressive graphics, and the music is seriously impressive as well.

Loops Of Zen (XXL) (Atari XE/XL)

Loops Of Zen may not boast the most impressive presentation qualities, but nonetheless it's a very clever little game that has me hooked.

Manical Drop (DMA-SC) (Atari ST/Falcon)

A really professional package... Stays true to the game-play of the original arcade; prevent the balls from progressing down the screen by picking them up and dropping them in lines of three or more.

Noitu Love 2: Devolution (Konjak) (PC (Windows))

If you love the old-school boss-fights of Contra, Gunstar or Metal Slug you'll be in your element here.

Plutos (Tynesoft) (Atari 7800)

The controls are simple and get their job done pretty well and the aliens swarm around the screen in varied, interesting and mostly difficult to avoid patterns.

Qwak (Jamie Woodhouse) (PC (Windows))

Do yourself a favour and buy this game - nothing is perfect, but this is about as close to platforming heaven as you'll get.

Rallybug (Cronosoft) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Quite an amusing distraction, but tainted by a questionable play mechanic and the occasional bug.

Rana Remake (CEZ Studios) (PC (Windows))

When I play a remake I want it to be an experience equal or more-than-equal to playing the game via emulation or on real hardware. With Rana-Remake we have neither.

Rock Boshers (TIGSource) (PC (Windows))

A very polished, stylish, compelling and utterly charming game.

Rom Check Fail! (Farbs) (PC (Windows))

You owe it to yourself to play this, even if it's your birthday and Christmas present, Rom Check Fail! makes the sum of its parts seem like Rise Of The Robots.

Ropor (CakeInCup) (PC (Windows))

Ropor is, for a deliberately retro game, pretty much perfect - right down to the adjustable glow and scanline effects on the graphics.

Self Destruct (Distractionware) (PC (Windows))

Should be applauded for its contribution to the shoot 'em up genus. The ability to judiciously balance and design a game has left me with incredibly high hopes for Distractionware's forthcoming releases.

Sirius (Tynesoft) (Atari 7800)

It's a shame Sirius wasn't quite completed because its four levels are of a reasonable size and there's enough challenge to keep most players going for a short while at least.

Skull Pogo (Properundead) (PC (Windows))

A small yet brilliant game... Few games have made me lean over the keyboard to such an extent, and even fewer have given me as much eye strain!

Soup Du Jour (Digital Eel) (PC (Windows))

A fun game to play for a few minutes at a time and a great coffee-break boredom killer.

Splattr (Cronosoft) (Spectrum 128K)

Sprite design is fun and bold... This is the killer app that never came, and it is now time for people to finally upgrade from their 48K machines.

Staroid (Cakeincup) (PC (Windows))

Really captures the C64 atmosphere... Easy and fun to play for a few minutes (or more) and not too stressful on the old brain cells.

Sub Hunter (Psytronik) (Commodore 64/128)

The sprites and animations are crisp and the multi-layer parallax scrolling gives a nice sense of depth to your aquatic adventure.

Swapz (Fandal) (Atari XE/XL)

There's nothing horrendously bad about the game, but there's nothing wonderful about it either... You won't be missing much if you give it a miss.

The Hordes (Pug Fugly Games) (PC (Windows))

A tough game in pretty much every respect, and thanks to its power-up mechanics even veteran shoot 'em up players are guaranteed a challenge.

The Pairs Are Gone/Spy4K (Paradize Games) (Atari ST/Falcon)

So in all, 2008 was a good year for Atari gamers and a real step forward for Paradize in terms of quality releases.

War Twat (Bagful Of Wrong) (PC (Windows))

Addictive, with satisfying game-play and gratifying explosions, War Twat strides through the crowd a good head above the rest, with lasers shooting from its mouth and bulldozers spinning from its eyes.

War Twat 2: SY!NSO! (Bagful Of Wrong) (PC (Windows))

At the end of the day, I want to be battling against the slathering alien masses, not the control system.

Wizard Of Wor (Weird Science) (Spectrum 48K)

Plugs a gaping hole in the Spectrum's catalogue, and offers plenty of simple fun into the bargain.

World Reborn (Neopong) (Game Boy Advance)

A brave attempt to do something a bit different with the shoot-'em-up genre, though things can get very hard indeed.

Zompocalypse (Toadtrip) (PC (Windows))

Although I was initially impressed, the game does lack longevity with just the 'survival' game option.