Bobby Bearing (The Edge)

A pleasure to play and, though the puzzles are about as difficult as those in Spindizzy, the graphics beat it hands down.

Heartland (Odin)

Stunning to look at, delightful to play, Heartland is magical and stylish. Simple without being simple-minded.

Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back (Palace)

If you liked Cauldron, you'll love it. The sequel is a significant advance and very difficult.

Hijack (Electric Dreams)

A post-Watergate conspiracy thriller of great originality. Terrific sound and graphics too. A winner.

Jack The Nipper (Gremlin)

Cartoon graphics and masses of brain teasers, all very nicely done. This'll sort out who are the wimps.

Pyracurse (Hewson)

"My God, Professor it's incredible!" gasped O'Donnell. "It seems Hewson can do no wrong!"

Tantalus (Quicksilva)

Too many screens, all very much the same. If you're still awake after the first few hundred i'll be surprised.

Molecule Man (Mastertronic)

Imaginative, surreal and addictive. Packs more finger twitching punch than superficially similar offerings.

Revenge Of The C5 (Atlantis)

Scrappy sprites and unsophisticated gameplay make this as tired and old-hat as the 'joke' at its core.

Ninja Master (Firebird)

Poor quality game of reactions rather than of the Exploding Fist-type game it first seems. Avoid.

Danger Mouse In Double Trouble (Creative Sparks)

Nice presentation, but the lack of any overall game idea means there isn't enough to hold your attention.

Spike (Firebird Super Silver)

One of the best budget Manic Miner-style games around. Nothing amazing, but all very well done.

Mafia Contract II (Atlantis)

Nice touches but not for serious adventurers. Strong on ideas, weak on carrying them through.

The Master (Artic)

Sub Manic Miner - not good enough at a budget price. Dodgy programming and unimaginable sprites.

Snodgits (Creative Sparks)

An oddity - part Cluedo, part 'collect' game, part logic test. It doesn't really add up but fails nobly.

Cagara (Players)

A bit like playing a 10,000 piece jigsaw when all the pieces look the same. It's all been done before.

Claws Of Despair (Players)

The slow graphics and standard format are a problem but the thinking is all pretty imaginative stuff.

Rupert And The Ice Palace (Quicksilva)

Above average levels-and-ladders, particularly the graphics of Rupert himself. It's too easy though.

Old Gold?

Theatre Europe (PSS)

An opportunity to play out the armageddon scenario. Chilling realism with graphic simplicity.

Mermaid Madness (Electric Dreams)

A failed joke. This aquatic mess should have been drowned the second after somebody thought of it.

Toad Runner (Ariolasoft)

Nothing to complain about. Nothing to enthuse over. Too expensive, considering the competition.

Arcade Creator (Argus Press)

A peerless Spectrum utility. No machine code experience required to create standalone arcade games.

Dynamite Dan II (Mirrorsoft)

A Rolls Royce among collect and dodge games. Big, technically clever and thoroughly addictive. Buy it.

Rebel Planet (US Gold)

Clever puzzles and good graphics. It's just not quite original enough to justify the full price tag.

The Boggit (CRL)

A wonderful spoof of That Other Game. A triumph of insanity over logic with delightfully snappy humour.

The Very Big Cave Adventure (CRL)

Spoof version of the original colossal caves. Quilled, but if you like programming jokes this is for you.

Rogue Comet (Walrus)

Another better than average effort from an independent label. A smidgin expensive though.

The Writer ()

A powerful and excellent value microdrive utility. The tape version is still good but slightly flawed.

Qualitas (Seven Stars)

A shot in the arm for your printer. Easy to use and great value. The link into Tasword is neat.

QL Assembler Workbench (Talent)

Sign Designer (DS Enterprises)

The King (Microdeal)

Othello (Pyramide)