ACE II (Cascade)

A dreary two player combat game with very limited potential, at a high flying price.

Grid Iron (Top Ten)

Believe me, this is a prize turkey. No tackling or anything approaching realism is used here or anywhere else.

Anarchy (Rack-It)

A brilliant, thoroughly playable little game, and at just under three quid I'm afraid you'd have to be a bit of a plonk to not check it out.

Blockbusters (TV Games)

Not only a superb version of the TV show but one of the best quiz programs ever produced.

Bobsleigh (Digital Integration)

It'll take you some time to become expert, but you'll never be bored - Bobsleigh is one of the most addictive games I've ever played!

Boulder Dash Construction Kit (Databyte)

At last you can exercise your creative talent on this great game. Go on, give it a try!

Clever & Smart (Magic Bytes)

A wacky arcade adventure based on a cartoon strip. Interesting, but let down by feeble instructions. Shame really.

Combat School (Ocean)

A fine conversion with enough to keep you occupied until next Easter. Tone up the waggling muscles first, though.

The Double (Johnson Scanatron)

User-friendly footie management game. Hardly original, but probably the slickest on the market today.

Erik: Phantom Of The Opera (Crysys)

If you're a platform and ladders fan, then you'll probably quite enjoy this one, although it's not the most taxing of its genre. If you're not, and you prefer more problem solving in your arcade adventures, then don't bother.

Eye (Endurance Games)

Lackadaisical version of the board game. Strong on packaging, weak on content. I don't think you will see eye-to-Eye with this one.

Firetrap (Electric Dreams)

A disappointing shoot and dodge game in dubious taste, with little to make you load it again.

Fuddo & Slam (John Wilson)

A text adventure implementing TALK commands... The difficulty of getting the right words means it's not one of the Balrog's most supreme. But it's still a good enough romp.

Galactic Games (Activision)

A damn good Hypersports parody, with enough decent programming to make it better than Decathlon!

Gary Lineker's Superstar Soccer (Gremlin)

A game in the Footballer Of The Year mould, but not really original or playable enough for most footie sim fans.

Gauntlet II (US Gold)

A super sequel to the much loved dungeon based shoot-'em-up. As much of a blast as the first, and about twice as addictive!

Gnome Ranger (Level 9)

For 48K owners who've been deprived of The Pawn, it should be an essential purchase as it gives you the flavour of the size and scope of disk-based games. Definitely mega-kaos!

High Frontier (Activision)

High Frontier is a realistic simulation, and if you like a game based on the idea of building something that you hope never to use, then it comes highly recommended!

Inside Outing (The Edge)

The thing that really sets Inside Outing apart is that, as well as providing enough nightmares to keep mappers awake for ages, there are also fiendish problems inside the rooms.

Knightmare (Activision)

Looks good and offers a certain amount of challenge... An efficient translation of the TV series, but too much of a half-way house between adventuring intricacy and arcade action.

MASK II (Gremlin)

A not-particularly-impressive shoot-'em-up/get something and take it somewhere else-ish-type game. For Mask fans only.

Match Day II (Ocean)

A spectacularly clever and playable sequel to Match Day that's sure to have the same lasting impact on Speccy gaming.

Murphy (Pirate Gold)

A totally naff rip-off of an ancient game. Not worth the asking price.

Rentakill Rita (Mastertronic)

It may be all the usual nasty-avoiding and map-making stuff, but really it's terribly good.

Riding The Rapids (Players)

Several gameplay bugs make this all a bit silly but it's playable in a strange sort of way. On the whole, though, it's not to be recommended.

Salamander (Konami)

A total disaster. Take away the original's fabby graphics, musical qualities, convert it into a one player (at a time) game, and reduce the rip-snorting action to a pitiful snail's pace. Add a dash of flicker with a small helping of colour clash. Stir once, then throw out with the rubbish!

Sidewalk (Infogrames)

Grab a copy and I can assure you, you won't be disappointed. Not exactly original, but still a cracking game with wonderful graphics!

Star Wars: The Arcade Game (Domark)

An excellent conversion of the arcade machine.

Super Hang-On (Electric Dreams)

An engine-growling motorcycle race game, with all the playability of the original. First class!

Sword & Shield (The Power House)

Good graphics, but slow and a bit aimless.

Ultimate Combat Mission (Mastertronic Added Dimension)

A fairly average scrolling shoot-'em-up. Hardly an earth-shattering title, but the two-player option brightens it up a bit.

Winter Olympiad '88 (Tynesoft)

If you haven't already got hundreds of winter sports games, this one's no worse than any of the others.