Action Force (Virgin)

Complex, fast moving arcade action that's going to take a long time to master. Great to look at and great to play.

720° (US Gold)

Virtually flawless arcade game. Addictive, smooth and slick. Easily US Gold's finest hour. Don't miss this one.

Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (US Gold)

Excellent conversion. Some quibbles because of colour problems but basically highly recommended.

Red L.E.D. (Starlight)

If you loved Marble Madness and couldn't get enough of it, then you'll probably love this Marble Madness clone - faults and all.

Bosconian (Mastertronic)

Brilliant budget alien killer. Looks and plays like a full price game. Definitely one to take notice of.

Slaine (Martech)

Innovative and interesting pseudo-adventure incorporating some speedy action too. A sturdy comic conversion.

Nebulus (Hewson)

Brilliantly original arcade game. Demands fast reactions and thought and looks great. Rush out and buy it.

Ballbreaker (CRL)

A new twist on an old idea - Breakout in 3D. Looks so so but is utterly addictive.

Holiday In Sumaria (Pirate)

Cheap and nasty take-off of Ultimate and Gargoyle games like Alien and Sweevo's World.

ATV Simulator (Codemasters)

Cheap and friendly little simulator that lets you drive one of those ATV dune bike things. Not brill, but OK.

Bounces (Beyond)

Future sports, nicely animated but from a poor idea. Definitely in the wrong court.

Uchi-Mata (Martech)

Bargain reissue of old Martech combat game. Stands the best of time very well.

Super Sprint (Electric Dreams)

Over-priced and not visually stunning, though entertaining, fast and addictive. Buy if you're feeling rich.

Centurions (Reaktor)

Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona (Grandslam/Argus Press)

Tedious football game that badly tries to cash in on Diego Madonna's publicity. Miss at all costs.

Defcom (Bug-Byte)

Hideously unplayable game even worse second time around.

Draughts Genius (Rack-It)

Nice conversion of an essentially insomnia-curing game. Pretty graphics.

Sun Star (CRL)

Technically sound idea but the Spectrum hasn't the capabilities to carry it out.

Bubble Bobble (Firebird)

Nauseatingly cute conversion that is nonetheless horribly addictive. Definitely has love-hate potential.

Mask (Gremlin)

Jam-packed with puzzles to solve and enemies to destroy. Needs patience, perseverance, and more than a little luck!

Pride Of The Federation (Excalibur)

Four part space adventure with terrific puzzles. A delight, but unfortunately a tad pricey.

Sheerluck Holmes And Dr. Witsend (Speccysoft)

First effort from a very promising new outfit. Good ideas and great presentation make it worth a look.

Labours Of Hercules (Terry Taylor)

Object lesson in how to write a Quill adventure. Brilliant stuff. The best value adventure this month.

The Prospector (Tartan Soft)

Excellent Quilled adventure with a great plot. Should appeal to everyone who has a love of good adventure writing.

The Calling (Visual Dimensions)

Excellently plotted Quilled adventure with great descriptions and neat graphics. Real value for money.

The Hand (Pearl)

Original idea - Masonic romp through hall of political power spoofing the rituals. Not much cop, though.

Cornilius (Bismilla)

The word list is so constructed as to not recognise universal abbreviations for standard adventuring words like Examine, so that frustration quickly sets in.

The Return Of Sock (Spectrum Adventure Club)

Reasonable value and atmospheric. But does the world really need another Star Trek spoof? Probably not.

Deadly Mission (John Henry Enterprises)

Earthman case meets Tryllan pirate in zzz-inducing adventure.

Hysteria (Software Projects)

Not that original but visually excellent. Very fast and just difficult enough to keep you involved - it's a winner.

Championship Basketball (Gamestar/Activision)

It might be arguable as to whether the gameplay is marvellous or terrible but it looks absolutely dire.

Enduro (Firebird)

More boring old Activision re-releases. Poor graphics, poor scrolling and no playability. Forget it.

Eddie Kidd Jump Challenge (Ricochet)

Easy controls coupled with an incredibly low skill requirement make Jump Challenge an affordable way to waste an hour or so.

Ten Pin Challenge (Atlantis)

Primitive bowling simulation which has little to offer to any but the most hard-core fans of the sport.

Ten Pin Challenge (Atlantis)

Nick Faldo Plays The Open (Mind Games/Argus Press)

Excellent golf simulation, spoilt slightly by no 'close-up' of the flag section. Great value.

Custerd's Quest (The Powerhouse)

Banabablip And Spacemanblip (Le Lu/Lus)

Dark Sceptre (Firebird)

It's Lords Of Midnight with the emphasis on strategy. It's great but don't expect Barbarian.

Solar Fire (Astros)

Thoroughly recommended. A wonderful tactical space combat shoot 'em up.

Football Follower, Fixgen And Poolswinner (Selec)

Just about the only football pool prediction suite - works well but slow and somewhat overpriced.

Call Me Psycho (Pirate)

Yet another bad rip-off of the Green Beret/Army Moves genre. Sorry, next.

Street Hassle (Melbourne House)

Cartoony fun-style Renegade street violence game. Graphics don't impress but it's moderately addictive and quite funny.

Freddy Hardest (Imagine)

Gigantic arcade game with brilliant cartoon graphics - slightly unwieldy structure leaves it just short of a classic.

Soccer Boss (Alternative)

Really awful rival for Football Manager. Don't even think about it.

Arrgghhh (Go-It-Alone)

Go-It-Alone has a very good concept on its hands here. If only it had taken just a little more care over the front end and screen presentation.

Hit Pak Volume 2 (Elite)

Maintaining the reputation laid down by the first Elite's first 6-Pak. A quality compilation.

War Cars (Firebird)

Slot-car racing comes to your Spectrum. Acceptable though crowded graphics improve an essentially dull idea.

High Frontier (Activision)

Compulsive strategic simulation of the Star Wars defence system. Get it right and you save America. Is it worth it?