The Last Ninja 2 (System 3) (Commodore 64/128)

Hearty congratulations are in order for what has to be the most professional and entertaining software package yet seen for the C64.

Football Manager 2 (Addictive Games) (Commodore 64/128)

A very big let down. There's little or no improvement over the original, which results in the game being outdated, short-lived and, worst of all, boring.

Halls Of Montezuma (Strategic Studies Group) (Commodore 64)

Very easy to get into and a dream to play.

Barbarian II: The Dungeon Of Drax (Palace) (Commodore 64/128)

Ultimately a lot of enjoyment is to be had from this brilliant hack-'em-up, which sets new standards for the genre.

Road Blasters (U. S. Gold) (Commodore 64/128)

Graphics do bear a resemblance to the original, but what really screws the game up is the animation. The gradual update on the cars and other objects is done very jerkily, though the animation of the main car is quite nice.

Scorpius (Silverbird) (Commodore 64/128)

It's pleasantly surprising to see a piece of software of this professional quality at such a low price.

Typhoon (Imagine) (Commodore 64)

May not be the most original game on the market today, but the novel combination of two brilliant games make this an absolute must.

Wasteland (Electronic Arts) (Commodore 64/128)

One of the ultimate RPGs. Slick gameplay, slick graphics. Get it while it's hot.

Mickey Mouse (Gremlin) (Commodore 64/128)

My feelings towards this product are similar to those of my feelings towards Mickey himself - all a bit insignificant and dated. Sorry Mick!

Hawkeye (Thalamus) (Commodore 64/128)

Shoot-'em-up fans may find this sufficient entertainment, but those who like their play a little more varied, or like using their brains as well as their joysticks might find the action tiresome.

Oops! (The Big Apple) (Commodore 64/128)

Lack of variety, tedious music, distracting background graphics... Oops! has all this and worse.

Better Dead Than Alien (Electra) (Amiga 500)

In my opinion, the programmers have concentrated more on producing a game with a sense of humour than a playable one, and the end result is little more than uninspiring.

Ikari Warriors (Elite) (Amiga 500)

Brilliant... A thoroughly impressive conversion too.

Fire And Forget (Titus) (Amiga 500)

On paper, this sounds like it could be lots of fun - as indeed its arcade role model is. Unfortunately, the reality is far less appealing.

Pub Pool (Mastertronic) (Amiga 500)

Unadulterated twaddle that no self-respecting Amiga games player should own.

World Darts (Mastertronic) (Amiga 500)

A pleasant enough game... Enjoyable in its own right and worth a look, if only for the appallingly bad artwork on the packaging.

Zoom (Discovery) (Amiga 500)

Not too complex but still enjoyable, no really stunning graphics or sound but still very good ones that are clear and attractive. The whole game has a really concentrated feeling of slickness about it.

Carrier Command (Rainbird) (Amiga 500)

One of the best games ever to appear on the Amiga... Sets standards that other companies will take some time to match. It's the closest thing yet to the perfect game.

Beyond The Ice Palace (Elite) (Amiga 500)

The excellent graphics do just about make up for the mediocre gameplay, and the spirit's lair is sufficiently large to provide a challenge, both to hardened gamers and mappers.

Phantasm (Exocet) (Amiga 500)

This isn't very good at all. I'd plump for something decent like Buggy Boy or Leatherneck instead. Scores ------ Graphics 50% Sound 50% Toughness 60% Endurance 40% Value For Money 40% Overall 40%.

Black Lamp (Firebird) (Amiga 500)

Very impressive... Unlike a lot of Amiga games these days, this really does manage to provide a long term challenge that arcade-adventurers and mappers alike should revel in.

Photon Paint (Activision) (Amiga 500)

An impressive utility, but one which is far from perfect. Creating an entirely original picture is a time consuming and occasionally frustrating process.

Blood Brothers (Gremlin) (Commodore 64/128)

The gameplay is slow, mainly because of the trouble involved in letting off a decent shot with the laser.

Dark Castle (Mirrorsoft) (Commodore 64)

A rather poor and simplistic game with graphics and sound to match. Mirrorsoft can do better than this.

Netherworld (Hewson Consultants) (Commodore 64/128)

Netherworld is a very slick product, from the sampled guitar voices on the title music, to the silky-smooth scrolling and the gorgeous graphics.

Scuba Kidz (Firebird) (Commodore 64/128)

Scuba Kidz is a lot of fun, smart to look at and easy on the ears, having a great title tune and start-game ditty.

Rogue (Mastertronic) (Commodore 64)

Gameplay is a little tepid, but Rogue should satiate shoestring explorers in need of a fix.

Professional Snooker Simulator (Codemasters) (Commodore 64/128)

A serious omission would appear to be a computer opponent. Although not vital, this does limit the appeal of the package as a whole. Recommended to snooker fans only.

European Five-A-Side (Silverbird) (Commodore 64/128)

If you're a fan of the sport and fancy a quick game against a friend or the computer, you could do far worse than this offering from Silverbird.

Trojan Warrior (Silverbird) (Commodore 64/128)

This unastounding game is saved by the huge amount of sampled speech and effects which have been crammed into the program.

Battleships (Encore) (Commodore 64/128)

Neatly presented, easy to use and nice to look at.

Stunt Bike Simulator (Silverbird) (Commodore 64/128)

Not particularly exciting and once completed (which won't take too long) the game is totally forgettable.

Mindfighter (Abstract Concepts) (Amiga 500)

Some of the descriptions of explicit brutality are unnecessary and sickening. And the fantasy aspect of the story, too, lacks credibility.

Dance Of The Vampires (Interactive Technology) (Commodore 64)

A nice little game. It has a lot of text, all of it very well written, and mostly it is quite atmospheric.