With: Pitfall, Pystron, The Cars, Mugs, Kong Strikes Back, Chequered Flag, Sam Stout, Splat!, Fall Guy, Ad Astra.
Publisher: Off the Hook
Price C6.99
Memory: 48K

A bit of a problem this since the proceeds go to charity - there are other reasons to buy it, apart from the games. Proceeds from the pack go to fight drug abuse - hence the title.

Actually on games alone Off the Hook is worth having, particularly if you don't have Psytron which is the highlight of the pack. Some of the others aren't bad either.

Psytron was one of the first Beyond releases, it came out at about the same time as Lords of Midnight. It is a complex game that doesn't slot easily into any one compartment - call it arcade/strategy for want of anything else. The task is to defend a life support environment from an all-out assault by nasties. This is a matter not only of blasting but of monitoring the various sections of the base and deploying forces accordingly. It's impossible to summarise here but here's an indicative point, on the fold-out booklet that comes with Off the Hook half of the instructions concern Pystron.

There are some goodies among the rest of the games too. Ad Astra was the first from Gargoyle Games. Surprisingly, it's a straight space zap 'em with big graphics. A good couple of hours worth of blasting anyway. Mugsy from Melbourne House is basically a Kingdom-style management game, except that you manage crooks. The main point of Mugsy was that it had some huge, beautifully designed illustrative screens - the problem was that the strategy element is weak. The game doesn't last.

Splat! is an ingenious maze game where it's the background that moves - the idea is to collect things but make sure you are not suddenly crushed into the walls because the playing area suddenly decides to move on. Surprisingly addictive. Kong Strikes Back is running and jumping on a rollercoaster. Chequered Flag is an OK racing game that suffers because there are no other cars to compete with. Fall Guy is about doing stunts but isn't much fun. Blue Max is an air attack, where you get to blast both air and ground targets.

If you don't have Psytron, then it's worth buying Off the Hook for that reason alone and treat everything else as welcome bonuses.

Electric Dreams
£6.99

Off the Hook, the charity package put together by Electric Dreams, offers even better value for money - ten games for £6.99. And at the same time you can ease your conscience about the many hours spent hunched over your computer by the fact that all money raised by Off the Hook goes to the Prince's Trust for the rehabilitation of drug addicts.

Goodies on the Spectrum include Beyond's Psytron, Blue Max from US Gold, and Melbourne House's Mugsy. It also includes Elite's Fall Guy but we prefer not to talk about that.