Hydrofool (Faster Than Light)

Follow up to Sweevo's World. It's a beautifully animated 3D puzzle game with some of the slickest graphics around.

Barbarian (Palace)

Top quality combat program meets ropey fantasy plot with surprisingly pleasing results. An essential purchase.

Army Moves (Dinamic)

Highly violent and very morally unsound with great graphics and gameplay. Worth keeping an eye on Dinamic.

Mario Bros (Ocean)

Knocking turtles over surprisingly makes for an astonishingly entertaining game. Workmanlike conversion though.

Saboteur II (Durell)

Some nice graphics for the central characters but suffers from a paucity of plot ideas and a lack of game variety.

Mr. Weems And The She-Vampires (Piranha)

Gauntlet variant with horror figure and Garlic. Nicely executed, suffers from being one of a dozen or so similar titles.

Gun Runner (The Powerhouse)

Mainstream space adventure romp with a nice look and very little depth. Better than your average blast, but not up to Hewson's usual standard.

Cosmic Shock-Absorber (Martech)

Mediocre space adventure stuff. Not taxing by any means, and unlikely to keep you hooked for more than a few plays.

Krakout (Gremlin)

Nice version of a ridiculously old game. Definitely in second after Arkanoid but if you can handle the odd angle, it's better.

Pulsator (Martech)

Plain to look at but ingenious to play. It's a maze game which tests planning and reasoning more than blasting skills.

Gauntlet: The Deeper Dungeons (US Gold)

More of the same monsters, puzzles and traps from the game from US Gold. Could have used more imagination.

Bubbler (Ultimate)

Another from Ultimate. Not special visually and based partly on Marble Madness. Nevertheless, it's fiendishly difficult.

Red Scorpion (Quicksilva)

A cross between Tau Ceti and Starglider but not quite as good as either. Nevertheless, the vector graphics are pretty good.

Space Detective (Celerysoft)

Well worth the dosh. This adventure grabs you surprisingly quickly and it's all pretty atmospheric stuff.

Prince Of Tyndal (Tartan Soft)

Nothing too exciting but it's a very well plotted budget "Quilled" adventure.

Tomb Of Syrinx (The Power House)

A pretty simple scrolling maze game, that just rolls gently on without creating a fuss. Take it or I leave it.

Transmuter (Codemasters)

Despite some boring moments, this is generally a pretty reasonable shoot-'em-up.

Chronos (Mastertronic)

Enjoyable though hugely unoriginal space blast. Like rock from Rhyl - pretty average all way through.

Strike (Mastertronic)

Definitely quality programming, but it is as boring as you'd expect a same based on ten-pin bowling could be.

Inspector Gadget (Melbourne House)

Largely poor graphics combined with uninspired gameplay make this one of Melbourne's worst in a while.

Big Trouble In Little China (Electric Dreams)

Billed as a shoot-'em, zap-'em, hack-'em game, it is an extremely lame example of the genre. A definite miss.

Express Raider (US Gold)

Coin-op conversion that's a mixture of various game types. Mediocre graphics make it not a vital purchase.

Ghost Hunters (Codemasters)

Big, smoothly animated graphics, and a chilling voice-synthesised 'Ghost Hunters'. Big value for money.

Think! (Ariolasoft)

Not a game to get over-heated about, but a neat on-screen strategy board-game. Simple but very effective.

Star Runner (Codemasters)

3D space marathon with programmer Christian Urquhart on top form. Unlikely to take off as a real sport, though.

Octagon (Budgie)

Compulsive strategy game with arcade elements. It's massive, big and frustrating to play. Budgie's first success.

Tubaruba (Advance Software Promotions)

Hugely disappointing Firebird release. There's infinitely more invention in the title than the game itself.

Auf Wiedersehen Monty (Gremlin)

Enterprise (Melbourne House)

Trading game with some reasonable graphics and an Eliza program bolted on. Lack of combat means it's boring.

Shadows Of Mordor (Melbourne House)

More Tolkien stuff. Better than Lord Of The Rings (and no bugs), but still something of a disappointment.

Dogfight 2187 (Starlight)

Re-hashed 3D routines with combat sequences. Features a two-players vs. the computer option.

Bismarck (PSS)

Tense and exciting blend of strategy and arcade simulation - a long way from playing Battleships!

Yankee (Cases)

Great fun but needs some brainwork. Good graphics, effective game mechanics and it's good value.

Apocalypse (Command)

A slow game, but you certainly get plenty for your money. Dated now but based on a strong board game.

Tobruk (PSS)

Unsuccessful marriage of arcade and wargames. Not enough oomph in either, and it falls neatly between two stools.