10 Great Games II (Gremlin)

The best value compilation for yonks - with four megagames to boot!

Action Force II (Virgin)

Dan Dare was brill, Dan Dare 2 was exceptional and Action Force II, well it's transcended! Strategic carnage with snazzy programming and natty graphics!

Blitzkrieg (Cases)

A simple, no-frills game. It's got good presentation and a fair scenario, but is spoilt by an inferior command system and obvious programming errors.

Blood Valley (Gremlin)

An average game that's certainly not one of Gremlin's best. It could have been much, much better.

Brainstorm (Firebird)

A test of reactions and quick thinking rather than luck and guesswork, this is perfect budget fare, although I can't help feeling that we deserve something a little more sophisticated, even at this bargain basement price.

Crazy Cars (Titus)

A run-of-the-mill racing game adding nothing new to the genre.

Demon's Revenge (Firebird)

It's better than similar games (Conquest for example), but since completion of the game is impossible I can't recommend it.

Dervish (Power House)

Teuk! Explore bland and badly drawn pathways in the search for 'magic and mysticism'. The only mystery here is why on earth release such tosh? The sound is feeble and colour clash unbearable.

Disposable Heroes (Power House)

I really can't see Power House making money out of this kind of tripe, unless someone out there is fool enough to add this to their collection. Take a tip - avoid!

GeeBee Air Rally (Activision)

"Great" flying? More like, this flying game grates...! It's a nice idea which just doesn't get off the ground. Steer well clear.

Gothik (Firebird)

It's Gauntlet with knobs on. A big, bulging, throbbing, zappabout maze game with bonus wibbly bits bunged on - it's great!

The Jade Stone (Marlin Games)

My advice on The Jade Stone is that there's no need to "EXAMINE" it first, just get out and purchase it pronto - though don't try swearing at it if you get stuck.

Jinxter (Rainbird)

Another essential purchase for Spectrum adventure lovers. It leaves you laughing and scratching your head simultaneously.

Karnov (Electric Dreams)

One of the Spectrum's slickest games. A superb conversion of the coin-op which proves that colour on the Speccy isn't a thing of the past.

Lee Enfield: Space Ace (Infogrames)

Not recommended. It's Prohibition revisited - it's all too similar and not a fraction as stylish. If I were you, I wouldn't touch it with a baguette.

Mega-Apocalypse (Martech)

A conversion of what is apparently an immensely popular game for the C64. I have a suspicion a lot of people are going to ignore its rather bland graphics and somewhat turgid gameplay, and just buy it so they can see what the fuss is about.

The Plot (Firebird)

The Plot is pretty simple stuff, but it does hold a tough challenge, and would be a worthwhile buy for hardened platform freaks.

Ramparts (Go!)

Activision's Rampage itself wasn't a brilliant conversion - so copying this with knights instead of monsters is a pretty rum idea. Making a good, original game would have been a better idea, and a lot more fun to play.

Rastan (Imagine)

A bit gory, but nonetheless a great game.It's nice to see a coin-op conversion that still stands out of the crowd. Watch out for flying limbs!

Skelvullyn Twine (8th Day)

Book One is reasonably easy to complete, which gives everyone a chance to see a chunk of the game. But the next two bits do get harder and all three together add up to a very smart and value-for-money adventure.

Sophistry (CRL)

A cracker. A brillo multi-screen arcade adventure, that proves that there's life in the old 3-D dog yet (woof howl).

Spore (Bulldog)

The graphics hardly impress, but things do chug along at a fairly rapid pace so you may not have time to take much notice. Apart from that - forget it. For zappers and maze freaks only.

Thing! (Players)

A thoroughly playable 'collect and connect' game from the author of Joe Blade. A must buy.

Xarax (Firebird)

If you're a fan of simple mindless shoot-'em-ups, and you haven't got a great deal of dosh in your pocket then you could do worse than to buy this.

Zolyx (Firebird)

It's mildly addictive for a while, but oh, so boring to look at, so I would say playability is sadly limited. Still, not a disgrace for the dosh.