Super Hang-On (Electric Dreams)

An absolutely superb conversion of the coin-op. Looks great and it's exciting to play. This is the definitive road race.

OutRun (US Gold)

A tall order falls short of expectations though not by much. It's still about as close to the original as anyone could expect.

Flying Shark (Firebird)

Marvellous conversion that loses none of the speed, difficulty or excitement of the original. An absolute treat

Anarchy (Rack It)

Superb, simple and horribly addictive. This one will give you square eyes. Promise.

Gauntlet 2 (US Gold)

A corker. Fast action and superb gameplay make Gauntlet II probably the first sequels worth the cash.

Gnome Ranger (Level 9)

So good to see Level 9 back again - with a return (after Mole) to its traditional adventure roots. Few innovations.

Ronnie Goes To Hollywood (8th Day)

Saracen (Americana)

Badly designed Boulderdash-cum-Gauntlet rip-off. This is pre-ZX81 programming.

Knight Lore (Ricochet)

Still regarded as one of the best filmation games ever released, and definitely a classic.

The Last Word 128 (Trojan)

A very powerful and flexible wordprocessor for the 128K machines. An improvement on the original.

Salamander (Imagine)

A well programmed conversion that should go down a treat with all shoot 'em up fans. Few levels and OK-ish sound.

Combat School (Ocean)

Ocean's coin-op conversion No 345. And it's good stuff. Can they do no wrong? Knight Rider fades in the memory.

Mask 2 (Gremlin)

Excellent sequel to Mask. Lots of hard shooting and tearing about, and a brain-aching selection part.

Music Machine Sample Editor (Quasar)

Flexicalc (Bibby)

Competently programmed, but without being too dismissive, probably much more complex then most Spectrum owners could possibly desire.

Cybex (Pirate)

A boring mixture of an isometric 3D game and a maze game. Not much cop - overpriced even on budget.

Jack The Ripper (CRL)

The first game ever to receive an 18 certificate. Very literate effort from St. Brides, with 'gore' added by CRL.

Erik The Phantom Of The Opera (Crysys)

An interesting subject turned into an uninspiring game. Nice to look at for a bit, but after that, not a lot else.

Ace 2 (Cascade)

Good basic idea, but doesn't quite make it either as an arcade game or a simulation. Adds nothing to Ace 1.

Implosion (Cascade)

This type of plan-view zoomy blast of game went out with Space Pilot. But, for all that, it's definitely got something.

5 Star Games 3 (Beau-Jolly)

Another jolly excellent offering from the Jolly stable with seven titles.

Nightshade (Ricochet)

Ultimate is without rival.

Riding The Rapids (Players)

A good idea with some original touches but just a little more speed would have been in order.

UCM (Mastertronic Added Dimension)

A sort of futuristic Commando. Competently programmed, but lacking the variety to hold the interest.

Time Trax (Bug-Byte)

Unoriginal, unexciting, unmotivating, unplayable and almost unbelievable junk. Hardly worth reviewing.

Solid Gold (US Gold)

Yes, you may have a couple of the titles, but unless you've got them all, you might as well give Solid Gold a go. It's pure magic.

10 Computer Hits 4 (Beau-Jolly)

Excellent compilation at a price which makes it an ideal Christmas stocking-filler.

Game, Set And Match (Ocean)

A strong sports sim with treasures old and new but why so costly? Ten games and more than 20 events.

Beach Head 2 (US Gold)

Fun re-release shoot-'em-up. An excellent budget battle.

Power Plays (The Powerhouse)

Eight games for a tenner. Good value, you might think - but then look at the quality of the games.

The Double (Scanatron)

An involving Football-managerette.

Investment Monitor (Slatford)

Keep track of all your stocks and shares - as they whizz down and occasionally up.

Gary Lineker's Superstar Soccer (Gremlin)

Football game which gives you both simulation and strategy. Somehow both are treated a tad superficially.

Match Day 2 (Ocean)

A highly accurate football implementation. Screen and players can converge in a colour-clashing muddle.

Star Wars (Domark)

Superb conversion of the coin-op, and an amazing achievement. Spoiled somewhat by being completely silent.

Sidewalk (Infogrames)

Unusual mixture of game ideas that don't all work together but redeemed by some astonishing graphic work.

Sorcerer Lord (PSS)

An ingenious and entertaining fantasy wargame, with excellent graphics. I recommend it thoroughly.

Blockbusters (TV Games)

As good a computer version of Blockbusters as there could possibly be. Some may wonder if there is any point.

Eye (Endurance Games)

A perfectly decent conversion of a board game which itself, unfortunately, doesn't generate much excitement.

Fruit Machine Simulator (Codemasters)

It sounds daft but this is easily the best fruit machine simulation ever and the whole thing is idiotically addictive.