Powermonger: World War One Edition (Electronic Arts)

It's looking quite dated now, and the samples aren't much different from the original. The gameplay's still as taxing in the later territories though.

Top Banana (Hex)

Crazed graphics make it look like a Commodore 64 game. Sound effects are so weird they're not funny. Gameplay is boring. But don't get the impression that it's a bad game.. .oh, all right, it is.

Lure Of The Temptress (Virgin Games)

Unashamedly based on The Secret Of Monkey Island, it's not quite as manically funny, but its subtleties should stay with you for a long time. You'll be going back and trying things long after you've finished it.

Dreadnoughts (Turcan Research)

It's not a game for adrenaline addicts, since nothing moves at any pace and you need patience to work through battles. As serious wargames go though, this is one of the better ones.

Pacific Islands (Empire)

Quite similar to Team Yankee - after all, what do you expect? It's a sequel. Much better though with more to do and harder missions.

Vengeance Of Excalibur (Virgin Games)

Much too complicated. You start off thinking it's going to be an Arthurian romp through strange lands with plenty of things to examine, spells to cast and a bit of good old fencing. But it isn't - most of your time is spent deploying your army, looking for knights who have got lost and swapping disks.

Harlequin (Gremlin)

Like Magic Pockets, it's a rarity - a platform game that makes platform games fun once again.

Alcatraz (Infogrames)

Considering how long it took to develop Alcatraz, it's a massive disappointment. It's simply a collection of uninspiring subgames.

World Class Rugby: Five Nations Edition (Audiogenic)

A lot of fun for the rugby fan.

The Ninja Collection (Ocean)

Three games in the same format. Double Dragon is the best looking, Dragon Ninja is the fastest and Shadow Warriors is the one - er, most called Shadow Warriors.

Bonanza Bros (U. S. Gold)

Frustrating, ridiculous and fun. It's a tad too frustrating, so try and persuade somebody else to play with you and you can have a person to shout at, rather than just the screen.

The Godfather (U. S. Gold)

The point has really been missed here. Yes, it looks gorgeous, but the best things about the films are ignored in favour of a series of slow-combat sequences where you have to kill people or avoid being killed.

Dizzy's Excellent Adventures (Codemasters)

If you're a hardened games player, Dizzy's Excellent Adventures isn't going to offer you anything new or exciting, mentally stimulating or addictive. But if you want something to lighten up your relationship with your ST, this collection is for you.

Heimdall (Core)

Heimdall is an engrossing role-playing game that should keep you occupied for ages. Until all your crew are wiped out, anyway.

Obitus (Psygnosis)

A game like a rotten antique table - an uninspiring collection of disparate game styles roughly slung together and given a lick of excellent graphical varnish, all in a bid of disguise the mould beneath.

Videokid (Gremlin)

Unfortunately, Gremlin have the knack of producing games that are competently programmed and good to look at but have no spark of gameplay interest to them at all. This is one of them.

Wolfchild (Core)

Just an ordinary platform shoot-'em-up, really, but remember - it's all in a good cause.