Dropzone (UK Gold/Arena Graphics)

Shoot-'em-up fans can't afford not to have this one. The waves are still getting harder at one million points.

Entombed (Ultimate)

Brilliant hieroglyphics and enemies and some marvellous rooms... Solving the puzzles gives an incredible kick.

Rockford's Riot (Monolith/First Star)

Sixteen very different multi-screen caves, and five difficulty levels, although it's too close to Boulderdash for comfort.

Hunchback At The Olympics (Software Projects)

Another decathlon game-yawn bore. The humour and events will rapidly bore you.

Roland's Rat Race (Ocean)

Sewers and drains look good... Great short term enjoyment although you may not come back to it after completion.

Spitfire '40 (Mirrorsoft)

There are much better flight simulators than this - even Glider Pilot has faster graphics.

Hi Bouncer! (Mirrorsoft)

Good fun for all kids - we liked it! The screens are easy but there are increasing difficulty levels.

Stringer (Addictive Games)

Reasonable animation and it does get tough enough to provide a challenge, but I found the lack of variety and originality in the gameplay disappointing.

Operation Whirlwind (Ariolasoft)

Great value for a war game and easy to play.

Circus Circus (Firebird)

It's cheap and it's nasty... This circus won't pack the crowds in... 'Orrible graphics, 'orrible gameplay, 'orrible sound, 'orrible game.

Kik Start (Mastertronic)

The most impressive cheapo game we've ever seen. Despite being frustrating it still proves addictive.

The Bulge (Argus Press)

Good landscape and unit characters. Great sussing out the battle plan but, once cracked, may pall.

Chopper (Creative Sparks)

Once sussed, the screens start to lose their appeal... A nice cheap shoot-'em-up but pretty ordinary.

Amazon Warrior (New Generation)

Very tough but unaddictive. If you've got Forbidden Forest, forget it.

Knockout (Alligata)

The boxers are large and quite well animated... But there's not enough game content to make you come back for long.

Ghettoblaster (Virgin)

Great characters with interesting new gameplay touches... Tremendous instant appeal but constantly collecting tapes may pall.

Taskmaster (Creative Sparks)

Excellent cheap game with enough difficulty to keep you busy. Level four, six and seven are diabolically difficult.

The Dam Busters (US Gold)

An excellent program bound to appeal to many tastes.

Conan (US Gold/Datasoft)

I can't figure out why it's only disk-based and, for this type of game, it's overpriced.

Whirlinurd (US Gold/Sydney)

Fifty multi-screen rooms... but most are very samey and won't get you wildly thrilled. They also get incredibly difficult to manage.

Operation Swordfish (British)

A poor imitation of Beach Head where the same old boats and planes just keep coming.

Jonah Barrington's Squash (New Generation)

A good simulation that is very playable. There's reasonable animation but there's not much else to do on a squash court.

Strangeloop (Virgin Games)

Wicked puzzles, wonderfully detailed screens, some great characters, same weak beeping as on the Speccy and a very quiet title tune.

Chickin' Chase (Firebird)

Great impact and excellent high scoring potential. Gets hard as the animals flood in but a trifle monotonous.

Poker (Duckworth)

Poker has been done before but not with six opponents. Perfect for those with a reckless gambling streak.

Castle Blackstar (CDS)

A really great cassette adventure that should become a classic.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Universe (Infocom)

With this game's humour, size, and attention to detail, it can only be said that it is destined to become one of the all-time classics.

The Helm (Firebird)

Deserves a place in any adventurer's collection, particularly if you enjoy a really sycophantic computer doing your bidding.

Subsunk (Firebird)

Not that bad an adventure, but one that I'd recommend only to the juniors.

Asylum (Screenplay)

The whole thing's quite enjoyable, but may appeal more to the more arcade-minded amongst you.

Gribbly's Day Out (Hewson)

A marvellous new character with unusual control and scenario. A brilliantly original game with terrific control and a demanding task.

Gates Of Dawn (Virgin)

Unusual 3D perspective and some good sprites. The game isn't that large and may not hold your interest.

Spooks (Mastertronic)

Crude graphics and horrible room to room scrolling but a good arcade adventure for little cash.

Ciphoid 9 (Monarch)

'Save Earth from the aliens' bore that's sadly below the advertising claims.