The Great Escape (Ocean) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

A brilliant idea, superbly implemented, Ocean's best ever Spectrum game!

Brian Clough's Football Fortunes (CDS) (Spectrum 48K)

There's an awful lot of enjoyment to be had out of Football Fortunes, whether you enjoy football or not.

Icon Graphix 128 (Audiogenic) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

It may not match Art Studio in sheer speed and number of options, but it still works out at quite good value.

Disciple (Rockford Products) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2/+3)

It's great. There are all sorts of additions: the snapshot, the comprehensive networking, the availability of two Sinclair or one Kempston joystick ports, the ability to run Microdrive software and to have it transferred by means of the inhibit button, and above all the incredible speed of transfer.

Konami's Golf (Imagine) (Spectrum 48K)

Only worth shelling out money for if you are desperate to get a Golf simulation into your software collection... With only nine holes, its appeal may fall off very quickly.

Master Games (US Gold/Ultimate) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2/+3)

Whilst the two Jet Man titles are a tribute to the quality of early Ultimate games, this compilation as a whole doesn't really stand out when compared to some of the others available.

League Challenge (Atlantis) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

Certainly won't win any awards but, if you can excuse the graphics, the time it will take to guide your team to the top will justify the budget price.

Henry's Hoard (Alternative) (Spectrum 48K)

Henry's Hoard isn't going to set the world alight, but I've always had a weak spot for platform games so it gets a modest thumbs-up.

Masters Of The Universe (US Gold) (Spectrum 48K)

Another wasted licence. Neither the gameplay or the graphics capture the atmosphere of He-man or the rest of the Masters of the Universe crew.

Defcom (Quicksilva) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

A game that falls short of expectations and takes an age to play.

Xcel (Mastertronic) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

The action isn't as fast and furious as some other shoot-'em-ups, and at times the game looks a little dated... but there's a fair bit of variety in the game.

The Hive (Firebird) (Spectrum 48K)

Lurking underneath the 3D display is yet another maze game that has been complicated by the unpleasant key controls that make steering the Grasshopper a major achievement.

Agent X (Mastertronic Added Dimension) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

It's all rather silly really, but the graphics are good, the game is nicely presented and the programmer's clearly kept his tongue well into his cheek.

Crystal Castles (US Gold) (Spectrum 48K)

By trying to pack a bit too much onto the Spectrum's screen the programmers have made the game too cramped to allow you to build up some speed and get really involved in it.

Cobra (Ocean) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

It may well have been the intention to send the whole thing up... and that's fine... but those who like their destructive blasting untainted by any form of fun had better stick to the film.

Academy (CRL) (Spectrum 48K)

A game featuring 20 missions, each as challenging as the original game.

Silent Service (US Gold/Microprose) (Spectrum 48K)

A monster hit, featuring 33 key controls to master before you can terrify the Japanese shipping.

Impossaball (Hewson) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

There have been similar games released recently but Impossaball beats them all in terms of graphics and playability.

BMX Simulator (Codemasters) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Everything about the game's presentation is highly professional from the graphics to course design.

Viewpoint (Rubicon Computer Systems) (Sinclair QL)

For the more experienced user, Viewpoint has a number of help facilities to aid object construction, such as listing all stored vertices or surfaces of the object under construction.

Master Games (US Gold/Ultimate) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2/+3)

These games are still among the best of their various types, so this compilation is worth getting if you're at all interested in arcade-adventures.

Spectrum +2 Machine Language For The Absolute Beginner (Melbourne House) (Spectrum +2)

If you are a machine code novice, buy it for its clarity, but get another at the same time with better examples. This one tells you all about Z80 instructions but nothing much about programming.

Tasword +2 (Tasman) (Spectrum 48K)

If you've got a Discovery disc and you want a wordprocessor, then get Tasword +2 - it's the best there is.

Q-Liberator (Liberation) (Sinclair QL)

For those who simply want their SuperBasic programs to load and work faster, Q-Liberator has a lot to offer.

Silicon Dreams (Rainbird) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Winter Wonderland/The Legend Of Apache Gold (Incentive) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

A game with limited vocabulary and a disappointing lack of responses. Torrance gives clues which are laughable for their lack of subtlety.

Gauntlet (US Gold) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

The speed of the game will satisfy even the hardened arcade player, the lifespan of the game will keep the value-conscious happy and there are enough elements to it to satisfy those who want something more than to just shoot things.