100% Dynamite (Ocean)

Four big names (and all on individual cassettes, which is a boon) but quite variable in quality. Think before you buy.

Action Countdown (Kixx)

It can have an overall mark of 30%, but that's generous. Keep a bargepole handy if you see this in the shops.

Australian Rules Football (Again Again)

Quite a goodie if you're into this sort of thing, but the lack of a two player option does let it down.

Behind Closed Doors 3: Revenge Of The Ants (Zenobi)

Probably the first adventure game where you have to input a four-letter word in order to succeed, though it's a fairly mild four-letter word.

Cobra (The Hit Squad)

Ordinary mortals might not get far beyond the first couple of screens - at least, not without an awful lot of practice.

Coin-Op Hits (US Gold)

Reasonable value as a compilation, but there are a couple of real dogs in here.

Double Dragon II: The Revenge (Virgin/Mastertronic)

A snazzy conversion of a fairly average coin-op. Great fun at first, but probably not all that long-lasting.

Epyx Action (Epyx)

Hardly the most innovative of games for a compilation, so, considering the price, you'd do well to think twice.

Fallen Angel (Alternative)

No probs technically, but the limpness of the action makes for a pretty unsatisfying experience.

Fighting Soccer (Activision)

A short, sharp playing life, lots of fun but in the long term won't go down as a footie classic.

Ghostbusters II (Activision)

Stilted, repetitive gameplay and the world's most ridiculous multiload conspire to scupper an exceptionally faithful and pretty film conversion.

Hard Drivin' (Domark)

Difficult to master, technically accomplished arcade/driving sim with brilliant graphics. If you like flight sims, you'll definitely get your money's worth!!

Hyper Sports (The Hit Squad)

All of the events involve the dreaded joystick-waggling at some point, and indeed swimming and weightlifting offer nothing else.

Moonwalker (US Gold)

All in all, a rather nice surprise. A bit repetitive perhaps, but perfectly playable all the way through with some neat graphical touches.

Myth: History In The Making (System 3)

It's brilliant. In a year when a lot of full price stuff has looked suspiciously monochrome and budgety, this is about as full price as you can get.

The Ninja Warriors (Virgin Games)

Maybe I couldn't expect more from the Speccy conversion of such a big arcade game, but for me it's a disappointing hack-'em-up scroller.

Pictionary (Domark)

A bit of a dud as far as the game goes, but the art package is certainly worth splashing out for. That is, if you want to spend this much dosh.

Power Drift (Activision)

A spiffing coin-op conversion, encapsulating most of the arcade features. A bit flawed, but a playable gem nevertheless. Best on 128K.

Pro Mountain Bike Simulator (Alternative)

Well-executed and good for a few weeks at least.

Rampage (The Hit Squad)

There's not a lot of challenge - once you've done one building, you just move onto the next - and, like the coin-op that spawned it, it's all style, no content.

Scapeghost (Level 9)

Not quite up there with the Level 9 classics, but you'll still be missing a lot if you don't buy it.

Spitfire (Encore)

If you liked Operation Hormuz, then you'll probably enjoy this game too.

Super Wonder Boy (Activision)

And what that means is that I can say this - if you absolutely loved Wonderboy, then you're really going to like Super Wonderboy too (but possibly not quite as much).

Tintin On The Moon (Infogrames)

A lovingly crafted arcade adventure that's both playable and addictive. It suffers from smallness of game size and lack of difficulty.

The Tolkien Trilogy (Beau-Jolly)

Despite its faults, it's one of those games that everyone ought to play, a landmark in adventure history.

Toobin' (Domark)

A strangely unenjoyable and suspiciously budgety looking arcade conversion.

Trivia (Shades)

Yep - it's a trivia game, nothing bad, nothing special. Really for the more brainy and mature among us.

War Machine (Players Premier)

Monstrously unoriginal, its main challenge lies in wondering whether to turn it off and throw it out of the window.