Short Circuit (Ocean) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

A Monster Hit.

P.A.W.S. (Gilsoft) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

This is a magnificent piece of software by any standards, and it's in a league of its own.

Art Master (Summit) (Spectrum 48K)

A very handy program to have up your sleeve when you want to use a lot of screens and memory space is tight.

Auf Wiedersehen Monty (Gremlin) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

The graphics are good - all the sprites are quite large and smoothly animated, and Monty responds well to both keyboard and joystick control.

Arkanoid (Imagine) (Spectrum 48K)

About the best version of Breakout you're likely to get.

Xen (Creative Sparks) (Spectrum 48K)

There's nothing obviously wrong with Xen, but it's too average to stand out amongst the crowds of other similarly priced titles.

Tomb Of Syrinx (The Power House) (Spectrum 48K)

The graphics are state-of-the-art circa 1983, and the maze scrolls jerkily as you move from one room to another.

Mad Nurse (Firebird) (Spectrum 48K/Plus)

The graphics are surprisingly good and if your sense of humour stretches to seeing the funny side of the game, you could well enjoy this one.

Judge Dredd (Melbourne House) (Spectrum 48K)

The game captures the atmosphere of crime fighting in the future although it has strayed from the comic character which will no doubt annoy the connoisseurs.

Timeflight (The Power House) (Spectrum 48K)

On my first attempt I sat there and did nothing, just letting the ship fly up the screen on its own and I got halfway through the second level before I needed to do anything to avoid getting blown up!

Greyfell (Starlight) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

A fine example of arcade adventuring in which you might have a whisker of a chance to get the bottom of the tail.

Kobayashi Naru (Mastertronic) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

A superb cut price icon-driven graphics adventure. It introduces a novel new way of adventuring and is worth every penny.

How to Be A Hero (Mastertronic) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

A suite of three games, all very similar... Only the differences in the layout of each maze separates one game from another.

Thrust II (Firebird) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

Neither of the Thrust games exactly qualifies a high speed arcade game, but there is something about them which is highly addictive and quite challenging despite the simplicity of the basic idea.

Sky Runner (Cascade) (Spectrum 48K)

An undemanding burst of blasting that should please those who still like their fingers firmly on the fire button.

Lin-O-Type (Bradway) (Spectrum 48K)

All in all, I liked it. It printed out all sorts of things - even Greek and Russian fonts. Easy!

Tobruk 1942 (PSS) (Spectrum 48K)

One of the best wargames I have ever played.

Legions Of Death (Lothlorien/Argus Press) (Spectrum 48K)

Well-packaged and with an easy-to-follow manual, this should offer hours of enjoyment... and might teach you something about the Punic wars as well.

Battlefield Germany (PSS) (Spectrum 48K)

Here at last is a real challenge for the experts,; beginners should cut their wargaming teeth on Tobruk before they try out this one.

Fist II: The Legend Continues (Melbourne House) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

The trigrams are a brave attempt to add variety to the game, but it will take at least an hour to find the first one. Most people will give up long before then.

The Serf's Tale (Players) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

If you want to see good text-only adventuring, this is highly recommended.

Four Minutes To Midnight (8th Day) (Spectrum 48K)

Thumbs down for this one, but I look forward to coming games. I just hope they are updated with more thought.

Matt Lucas (Players) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

Compared with CRL's Murder Off Miami, Lucas becomes laughably crude. But the puzzles are pleasant enough to while some time away with.

Grange Hill (Argus Press) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

By dispensing with the mapping aspect and concentrating on the puzzles, Grange Hill proves to be an enjoyable game with a few surprises in store.

Shockway Rider (Faster Than Light) (Spectrum 48K)

The black and white cartoon-style graphics work well and the gameplay is spot on.

Dragon's Lair 2: Escape From Singe's Castle (Software Projects) (Spectrum 48K)

Allows you a bit more scope to approach the obstacles in your own way, and this is where the conversion of Lair II seems to have improved over the first attempt.

Multiface 128 (Romantic Robot) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2/+3)

It has an excellent package of facilities, just the job for one to get the most out of one's gear.