Shadow Warriors (Ocean) (Spectrum 48K/128K)

Practice makes perfect. Once you've killed the fat sumo wrestler at the end of the first stage, you'll be totally hooked.

Impossamole (Gremlin Graphics) (Atari ST)

Impossamole looks and sounds very jolly, but at the end of the day it just doesn't have anything special to make it stand out.

International 3D Tennis (Palace) (Commodore 64)

International 3D Tennis may sound complicated and, for a while, it is. But perseverance reaps its own rewards, and once mastered, it offers the best tennis action you're ever likely to experience off court.

Ninja Spirit (Activision) (Amiga 500)

A fairly standard ninja slicer which some people might find just a touch too hard.

World Championship Boxing Manager (Goliath Games) (Amiga 500)

A quality purchase which makes a change from all those footy management sims coming out of the woodwork at the moment.

Persian Gulf Inferno (Innerprise) (Amiga 500)

Fast-moving and fun... You could do worse than take a butchers at Persian Gulf Inferno.

Loom (Lucasfilm) (PC (MS-DOS))

An extremely clever game which at times will have you tearing your hair out in sizeable chunks... but what a shame it's all over so quickly.

Raster Runner (Mastertronic) (Amstrad CPC464)

As these games go, Raster Runner is pretty smart but it's only at its best with two screaming players at the controls.

Wonder Boy (The Hit Squad) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2/+3)

None of the conversions are particularly enjoyable, but if you were once a fan of the coin-op they might have some sentimental value.

3D Pinball (Mastertronic Plus) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

The 3D turns out to be a weak gimmick, but the action is interesting enough to keep you occupied for a while.

Parallax (The Hit Squad) (Commodore 64/128)

Gameplay is good, but it would have been better if there was more blasting and less dithering around looking for keycards.

Quartet (The Hit Squad) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2/+3)

The levels are over in a matter of seconds and don't worry if you lose a life, because the credits system lets you go on and on for as long as you can stand... which won't be very long.

Overlander (Encore) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

Although it won't have you hooked indefinitely, Overlander isn't a bad game at all, and in fact it's a pleasing alternative to the official Road Blasters.

Battleships (Encore) (Amiga 500)

Battleships is Battleships is Battleships. A good translation but only entertaining until the novelty wears off.

Halloween (Silverbird) (Spectrum 48K/128K/+2)

The storyline is difficult to follow: A cake has exploded and blew sixteen objects all over Olli and Lissa's castle, and now she has to return them... Arcade adventure fans, check it out.

SAS Combat Simulator (Codemasters) (Amiga 500)

'Absolutely brilliant playability'...? We beg to differ. If you want a decent combat game, Ikari Warriors is more action-packed. This is a weak murdering-people game which makes a mockery of the Codemasters Seal of Approval.

Hoppin' Mad (Encore) (Amstrad CPC464/664/6128)

A cute but unexciting game.

Street Warrior (Silverbird) (Commodore 64/128)

A very simple beat-'em-up that fortunately doesn't play as badly as it looks.

Enterprise (Mastertronic) (Amstrad CPC464)

A very stupid and annoying attempt at a space trading game. It's about as enjoyable as eating live slugs.

Puffy's Saga (Ubisoft) (Amiga 500)

It looks cute and plays rather well indeed. One of the better Gauntlet derivatives available.

TV Sports Football (Mirrorsoft) (Commodore 64/128)

A first rate American Football sim made even better by the inclusion of superlative graphics throughout.

Powerboat USA (Accolade) (Commodore 64/128)

A poorly programmed arcade simulation, sporting badly-designed graphics and little in the way of playability.

Hammerfist (Activision) (Spectrum 48K)

One of the better arcade adventures doing the rounds of late.

Tower Of Babel (Rainbird) (Amiga 500)

You'll probably hate the first few goes, but beat a couple of the levels and you'll be hooked.

Flimbo's Quest (System 3) (Amiga 500)

A game you absolutely must get your hands on.

Tennis Cup (Loriciel) (Amiga 500)

A game any tennis fan should get their hands on.

LHX Attack Chopper (Electronic Arts) (PC (MS-DOS))

The best helicopter sim ever.

Ultimate Golf (Gremlin Graphics) (Amiga 500)

A far more accurate simulation than Leader Board and should appeal to armchair pitch and putt fans looking for something a bit more demanding.

Hot Rod (Activision) (Amiga 500)

As a single-player game, it's not tops, because most of the computer opponents are thick... The multi-player mode rescues it from obscurity, though.

Sonic Boom (Activision) (Amiga 500)

Weedy bullets, irritatingly droning sound and unspectacular graphics amount to more of a sonic poop than a boom.

Skidz (Gremlin Graphics) (Amiga 500)

The full-screen graphics are excellent on the Amiga and the soundtrack is a decent groove with plenty of sampled sound. If you're a skater or a mountain biker, give Skidz a whirl.

Chase H.Q. (Sega) (Sega Master System (EU Version))

The fast and addictive action of the game itself more than makes up for the graphical deficiencies.

Operation Wolf (Sega) (Sega Master System (EU Version))

A brilliant game - if you've got a light gun, put on your combat gear and go on a mission to liberate a copy from your local Sega shop!

Batman (Sunsoft) (Nintendo (US Version))

As scrolling and beat-'em-up games go, what we have here is one of the best, most playable and addictive games of the genre to hit the Nintendo for quite some time.

After Burner (Sega) (Sega Genesis)

One of the hottest, most addictive and definitely the most impressive coin-op conversions yet seen... the 3D is easily the fastest and smoothest I've ever seen in a game of this type.

Air Diver (Sega) (Sega Genesis)

One of the few Megadrive games to avoid, unfortunately, After Burner blasts it out of the sky.

Tiger Road (NEC) (PC Engine (EU Version)/TurboGrafix-16 (US Version))

The sort of game that makes you want to take a flamethrower to the cartridge and incinerate it.