Producer: New Generation
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £7.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Malcolm Evans

The game of squash is usually thought of as a wealthy young businessman's game, and has generally failed to capture the public eye as much as, say, tennis. There is also much argument as to which is the more skilful. New Generation have joined forces with one of Britain's leading squash players, Jonah Barrington, to develop this simulation, which closely follows the real thing, and may give you the opportunity to make up your own mind about squash.

The actual game is played between two in a closed court using the side and back walls to return the ball on the rebound. The rules of the game are well described on the game's inlay card, which points out where the simulation differs from the real thing of necessity.

Squash can be played by one person against the computer, or by two players simultaneously using defined keys or twin joystick control if you have the right interface. There are four levels of difficulty, Red to Yellow, selected by the Spectrum colour keys. In play, the control is not unlike that of Match Point, directional keys moving your player, while the fire button makes a fore- or backhand stroke, whichever is appropriate to player and ball position at the time. The angle at which the ball leaves the racquet is determined by the length of time you keep fire depressed, and there are six possible angles. The other variable in is the point at which your swing intercepts the ball, which affects its speed of travel.

The screen display consists of two equal areas, the playing area depicting the 3D court on the left, and a status panel on the right with the score and service information. In addition to the visual scoring, Malcolm Evans has developed a way of reproducing Jonah Barrington's voice very accurately, and he can be heard calling out the scores.

COMMENTS

Control keys: user-definable for two players, four directions plus fire needed
Joystick: all popular makes
Keyboard play: very responsive
Use of colour: sober, mostly greys and black, but works well
Graphics: very good, fast and characterful, excellent bouncing ball
Sound: generally simple, ball noises and the amazing sound of Jonah Barrington's voice
Skill levels: 4
Special features: Reprosound

Squash is not unlike Match Point, two players and a ball with racquets, although being squash it's played indoors. The graphic representation of this game is extremely good and I love the way the ball bounces about with a sort of 'sodden' feel to it - quite realistic. Animation is good and, again, realistic - although on the forwards/backwards movement, do I detect some Trashman style walking?! The only real niggle I have about this game is that I found it very difficult to actually hit the ball. I'm sure it wasn't my fault, but that the racquet was a little too small! The voice reproduction is very good, although I found it difficult to hear it without my fandabidozy-super-blaster radio amplifier. (For assembly instructions on this super-Uffindell contraption please send £50 to .... I Of course you have to be interested in squash or tennis-type games in the first place to enjoy it to the full, but a good simulation anyhow.

This is a very elegant and polished program with speedy, clear graphics that simulate the real squash court very well. Given the obvious limitations of a small computer, New Gen have managed to convince me completely. One thing becomes clear immediately, however, Jonah Barrington's Squash isn't a game to get into in minutes, it takes a lot of practice to get familiar with the action of the ball and to get your swing into good shape. If you like sports simulations then this is a definite must for your collection, and a game l think you'll be playing for a long time to come.

Anyone who enjoyed playing Match Point will enjoy this game, as much for the differences as for the similarities. The graphics are simple looking but work beautifully, and the effect of the bouncing ball with its shadow is excellent. The option of playing the computer or another person at the same time is very useful and gives the game an added addictive quality with both players trying to win and being unwilling to give up. This is hard to get into though, and a fair bit of skill needs to be developed before really satisfactory games can be played with any ease - well worth the effort though.

BARGAIN BASEMENT

A bumper New Year collection of cheapie rubbish (whoops!) from that king of the skin-flints, Marcus Berkmann, and his preppy pauper (ha ha) Jonathan Davies.

Mastertronic Plus
£2.99
Reviewer: Marcus Berkmann

Not all oldies are mouldies, though - this game dates from 1985 and is still superbly playable. I'd never seen it at all until a couple of years ago, when YS did a feature on sports sims and I had to play all of them. I was amazed at how good it was, even though it was a little basic (if not Basic). I suspect that Mastertronic, with this 79th rerelease, has tarted it up perhaps a touch, but it remains not only the best squash simulation I've ever played, but the only one, as far as I'm aware. Why else has no-one ever tried to repeat the trick? it can only be because this one is quite good enough. Buy it and try it - it's hard but not too hard, and it's very, very simple in presentation and structure. Let's not knock simplicity - Jonah Barrington's Squash remains a classic.

Roger: I'd always thought that squash was a silly game played by overweight and middle-aged executive types to burn off the worst effects of their business lunches. The obvious reason for playing it inside a big indoor 'box' is to stop the rest of us from seeing them at it and cracking up in helpless mirth... That's still probably a fairly accurate description of the real thing but the Speccy version is something else.

It features all the basic elements of the sport with two players on court, one of whom can be computer controlled. The only thankful absence is the wobbling bellies and puffing and panting.

The graphics and ball movement are realistic but the computer chooses stroke for you if the player has been positioned with some reasonable degree of accuracy. There are four options of difficulty and I can say, from experience, that it's easily possible to bait the Spectrum at the easier levels. Squash is a well-crafted chunk of sporting software which, usually, isn't boring to non-enthusiasts of the aforesaid physical pursuit.

It won't cut down on the jolly old midriff bulge, but then nobody will laugh at you either. 4/5 m HIT

Dave: It felt a bit strange playing squash and not ending up drenched in sweat and gasping for air. Still, the graphics are good and the game's addictive. I also found out that Jonah Barrington is mike shy - the voice synthesis sounds like he spent hours down the pub getting his courage up... 3/5 HIT

Ross: Master the techniques necessary for hitting the ball against the wall and you'll find this an enjoyable game. The lack of diagonal movement though is a pain, but not as much of a pain as playing the real thing. It's a pity that Jonah Barrington sounds like he's got a squash ball in his throat. 3.5/5 HIT

Publisher: New Generation
Price: £7.95
Memory: 48K
Joystick: Sinclair, Kempston, Programmable

Sports superstars endorsing computer games seems a trend that is likely to continue until all the superstars have been used up.

Jonah Barrington's Squash is endorsed by the former world champion and the score is called out in his own voice which has been 'accurately reproduced taking full advantage of the unique Reprosound system'.

However, plugging Jonah into the MIC socket produced a fuzzy unintelligible gabble as if he was speaking from the belly of the whale. Better get that throat seen to, Jonah.

The screen is divided, one half being the score table and the other a small 3D representation of a squash court.

The ball bounces off the walls in a convincing style and depending on the length of time the fire button is depressed, you can alter the angle at which the ball leaves the racket. The 3D illusion is effected by the use of a shadow on the ball, in much the same way as Psion's classic Match Point.

Hitting the ball can present a problem. It is very difficult. Whenever the ball comes within striking distance, press the fire button and you will automatically play that shot whether forehand or backhand. Obstructing your opponent is a foul and a let is called, but unfortunately you can't assault him with your racket.

The game is an accurate simulation of the game and play is fast on the higher levels. Jonah seems impressed and says that it "is fun to play and will teach players at all levels to improve their game". Personally I would prefer to exhaust myself in the more conventional and sweaty way, actually playing the real thing.

LET'S DO THE TIMEWARP

Yes! We're going back in time to take a lok at some games of yester-year. Why? Because they've all been re-released for £3 each and they're in your shops now!

JONAH BARRINGTON'S SQUASH
Label: Mastertronic
Price: £2.99

Whatever happened to Jonah Barrington? I'm told that he's now running a squash farm in Kidderminster, or something, his days of world-championship squashing glory now long gone. But when Jonah Barrington's Squash appeared in 1985, he was Mr Golden Boy British Sporting Champion of Everything (ie the only Brit to win anything in the whole universe) so the licence made a bit more sense, unlike squash itself which seems singularly pointless, consisting as you probably recall of two men taking turns to bounce a small hard ball off a wall in a fairly girly manner.

Oddly enough the game itself is quite good, due largely to the strangely life-like animation of the two players. You can play against a computer or flesh-and-blood opponent, there are several difficulty levels and all the rules of the game are supported (whatever they are). There's even a spot of sampled speech for a birrovalaff. Yeah, give this one a quick whack around the bedroom.

MACHINE: CBM 64/Spectrum
SUPPLIER: New Generation Software
PRICE: £7.95

It's a smash! New Generation Software has come up with a winner with Jonah Barrington's Squash.

Fast and furious action, superb graphics, topped off by one of the best systems of voice reproduction C&VG has ever heard.

The game can be played by one or two players. They can be moved left, right, backwards and forwards. Depressing the fire button enables the player to make forehand or backhand strokes.

By timing the stroke, you can alter the angle at which the ball leaves the racquet.

And throughout the match, Jonah Barrington calls the scores.

New Generation has achieved this amazing voice reproduction using a system called Reprosound, a hardware sampling system which enables the voice to be reproduced using software only.

Mastertronic Plus
Spectrum, Amstrad, C64 £2.99

This rerelease features not only Jonah Barrington's name (he's very big in the squash world, by the way), but also his voice, which can be heard gargling the scores and telling the players off for missing shots. The speech is probably the game's only high point, because the actual action is so confusing. Placing your player in a position from where he can return the ball is so difficult that more often than not whoever serves wins the point. As a squash game this is no more enjoyable than playing on my old Binatone TV game.

Spectrum
Simulation
New Generation Software
£7.95

Jonah Barrington's (he is a famous squash player) Squash can be played against another human, or against the computer.

There are four difficulty levels, just as there are four ball spot colours in squash, ranging from red (easy) to yellow (difficult). The screen display is split in two sections with a three-dimensional representation of the game on the left hand side of the screen.

Hitting the fire button makes your player do a forehand or a backhand stroke, depending on the position of the ball when the button is pressed. So by careful timing you can alter the angle at which the ball leaves the racquet.

New Generation Software
£7.95

Yet another sports simulation but this one, for one or two players, gives you the pleasure of actually hearing the scores as the machine annihilates you.

Well sort of. The idea is good and if you listen carefully enough you can make out the words but I'm afraid the Spectrum sound system has defeated yet another brilliant programming feat. When connected to a tape recorder the quality did improve, the DK sound box helped even more but even at its best it sounded like a Dalek with a sore throat.

But apart from that, this game would be a winner without the speech. It's fast, furious and, with clever, well animated graphic characters, the game is all an armchair Squash player could desire.

The action screen is set on the left in 3D perspective graphics and by careful positioning and choice of angle, learnt only after much practise, a level of control can be achieved. A wide range of options are offered, one/two player, keyboard or joystick and four levels of difficulty.

Full instructions are provided, which was useful as I have so far managed to avoid offers from healthy individuals to have a go and so I had never played before. I know of the game's reputation though and I reckon it's the only game I know to extend realism to the extent of causing a cardiac arrest.

ARCADE

Clare Edgeley blasts her way through a wealth of challenging software.

Get fit quick just about sums up the last 12 months. 1985 has seen enough sports games to put you off doing anything more strenuous than lifting a pint glass, at least for the next year.

Since the 1984 Olympics, we have competed in every imaginable sport: played footie with Bobby Charlton, run rings round Daley Thompson and been KO'd by big Frank... There is hardly an action sport left which has not been turned into a money spinner, with a Sportsman's name attached. What is wrong with Tessa Sanderson's Javelin anyway?

Daley Thompson's Decathlon was first to the tape back in November '84 and notched up a gold for Ocean when it jumped to number one in the charts for a few weeks. You have to compete in all ten events of the decathlon, taking part in the high jump, long jump and pole vault as well as track events. The 400m is the most gruelling and to keep up speed you must pump the joystick back and forth, which may result in a touch of cramp. The graphics are colourful and the game does give a taste of the real thing.

Melbourne House also attempted a compilation of events with Sports Hero, although it was nowhere near as successful as Daley Thompson. Sports Hero has you competing in four events - 100m sprint, long jump, 110m hurdles and the pole vault, over three difficulty levels. To gain speed you must pummel the run button and press the jump button before takeoff. Aching fingers seem to be the norm in that type of game and in many cases you will end up with a sick keyboard as well. There is no sound and the graphics are not fantastic, although the scrolling background is interesting. A few more events should have been possible.

More recently, Brian Jacks' Superstar Challenge from Martech reached the top ten, although it came a poor second to Imagine's Hypersports. Both contain a weird hotch-potch of events - some interesting, others boring. Brian Jacks gives you a pretty raw deal. For £7.95 you can immerse yourself in such exciting events as squat thrusts and arm dips. Those may be thrilling to watch on TV but on computer they are about as much fun as a wet blanket.

Hypersports is a different ball game altogether. Licensed from the arcade game of the same name, the computer version is very like the original, although some events lack imagination. When swimming - or floundering, if you forget to breathe - instead of tearing down to the end of the pool, the end moves towards you. Clay pigeon shooting is certainly one of the better events, in which you must shoot the skeets through automatically moving sights. The vault is tricky and rather than vaulting as far as possible from the horse, you are likely to end up on your head beside it. The graphics are generally thought to be more professional than Daley Thompson's Decathlon, though whether the game is better is a moot point.

Jonah Barrington's Squash from New Generation is an interesting concept which seems to have fallen flat. Knock a miniscule black ball round the 3D court and try to beat Jonah at his own game. Jonah is one of Britain's leading squash players. Much was made of the fact that a taped recording of Jonah's voice calls out the scores. Unfortunately, all you get is an unintelligible gabble and it is easier to read them on the score board anyway.

We awarded imagine's World Series Baseball three stars in the June issue, which just goes to show that our forecasts are not always spot on. In June, July and August it remained at number three in the charts, only dropping to eleventh place in September.

The game opens with a traditional rendering of the tAmerican National Anthem. Then play starts, with one team pitching and the other batting. You can play with a friend or against the computer, adjusting the speed and direction of the ball when pitching and the strength and lift of your swing when batting. Loving attention has been paid to detail with a large scoreboard displaying genuine adverts between innings.

Last, but not least, boxing - the sport for ugly mugs. Cauliflower ears and battered brains are only half the fun - just think what you can do to your opponent. A few months ago three games were released simultaneously on the back of Punch Out!!, a highly successful arcade game.

Elite's Frank Bruno's Boxing knocks Rocco and Knockout for six, and is easily the most playable and realistic, offering more possible moves and a greater number of competitors than either of the other games. It is also the only boxing game featuring a sporting personality - Bruno helped in an advisory capacity during production which explains the close attention to detail.

Gremlin Graphic's Rocco squares up well in the ring, though you will find it is not as easy to dodge your opponent as it is in Frank Bruno, and there are only three competitors. The scoring system is simple and the graphics are the clearest of the three games. It is worth playing and annihilates Alligata's Knockout in the ring.

Knockout is appalling and lacks any addictive qualities. It is the only game which uses colour - the others being mono - although that could have been sacrificed for extra playability. Other than left and right punches to the body and head, there is no facility for ducking and dodging, but at least you can amble away if the going gets too rough. You tend to spend a great deal of time seeing stars after being KO'd. At least it lives up to its name.

The legendary success of Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy lives on. Platform and ladders games are still the rage and dozens of versions have landed in the Sinclair User offices over the last 12 months. Two years ago Manic Miner was a sure recipe for success, and because it was ahead of its time a lot of money was made. Programming techniques are now more sophisticated and with games like Alien 8 and Spy vs Spy around, who needs a Manic Miner spin-off?

However, they are here to stay and some at least are worth the money you pay for them. One of the more successful games is Strangeloop, released late in '84, which has gone a long way to repairing the damage done to Virgin by Sheepwalk - one of its earliest and most awful games.

A half-crazy computer is the source of all your troubles in Strangeloop and, playing the part of a metagalactic repairman, you must shut it down. There are over 240 rooms filled with lethal swarf which attacks and damages your space suit. A jetbike waits somewhere and will make your task easier but you have to locate and refuel it first. Objects picked up will help with various tasks and friendly robots will patch your torn suit. The graphics are colourful and simple. and there is even a facility for saving your position on tape, to be resumed later when you have recharged your batteries.

Jet Set Willy II is the biggest rip-off of them all as Software Projects has done little other than add about 70 extra screens to the original. Essentially it is the same as Jet Set Willy which was launched back in 1984. The plot is similar; clear up the house before going to bed and avoid the hundreds of lethal thingummies found in each room. Despite being little more than a re-release, Jet Set Willy II is currently doing very well in the charts.

Despite the lack of original thought, if you are still hooked on the challenge of platform and ladders, try The Edge's Brian Bloodaxe. A loopy game if ever there was one. Brian, a viking soldier has been trapped in a block of ice for centuries, and as it thaws, he leaps out shivering, but ready to conquer the British. Flapping 100 seats, deadly ducks and mad Scotsmen are a few of the dangers that lurk on each level. Objects to collect and chasms to be leapt add to his daunting task. Brian Bloodaxe is at least as good as Jet Set Willy, with much visual humour and bright, clear graphics.

Hewson, which has made a name for itself in recent months with arcade adventures such as Dragontorc and simulations like Heathrow ATC, must have had a brain storm late last year with Technician Ted, which is totally unlike the semi-serious games released since. Guide Ted around a silicon chip factory while looking for a plate of the real things. Pick up knives, forks and other necessary implements and avoid several nasty traps. Easy to play and reasonably addictive, Technician Ted is not one of Hewson's best games but has done quite well in the platform and ladders stakes.

Artic's Mutant Monty is more sophisticated than Technician Ted and includes some extremely tricky screens requiring split second timing - if you are slightly out, a lemon or some other incongruous object will squash you flat, and then where will the beautiful maiden be? it is a constant source of amusement that so much work goes into preparing intricate story lines bearing absolutely no resemblance to the game you are playing.

On the whole rip-offs are uniformly mediocre in standard and not the sort of game you would buy for lasting playability. Real fanatics will find Activision's Toy Bizarre and Micromega's Jasper a doddle, and probably have more fun playing blindfold with their hands tied behind their backs. Both games are average and employ run-of-the-mill graphics. In Toy Bizarre, the player leaps round the levels of a toy factory popping balloons while being chased by a gang of irate toys.

Meanwhile, in Jasper much the same thing is going on, only this time you are a furry rat collecting money bags and treasure chests while avoiding furry cats, rabbits and other hairy animals. Platform games are usually fast moving and it is generally easier to keep up with the pace using a joystick. Unless you have very strong fingers, Jasper is doomed as your only option is to use the Spectrum's sticky keyboard.

Arcade adventures have come into their own in recent months, some remaining for weeks at a time in the top ten. With the advent of games like Gyron, fewer people are willing to put up with games like Jet Pac - classics two years ago but now gathering dust in cupboards across the country.

Superior graphics is the name of the game and the Spectrum is being stretched to its limits in a constant effort to improve software. Some games combine excellent graphics with originality, though equally large numbers have been launched on the back of the successful few. Ultimate's Knight Lore, Underwurlde and Alien 8 are three successful examples and Nightshade is expected to do as well.

Underwurlde is rather like a vertical Atic Atac featuring the Sabre-man who must escape a series of chambers while avoiding hosts of nasties. The pace is fast, the screens colourful - a devious game.

Knight Lore and Alien 8 could, at first glance, be mistaken for the same game. Featuring superb 3D grahpics, Knight Lore's hero must search a maze of rooms and find the ingredients of a spell to lift a curse placed upon him. Each room presents a challenge and one wrong move spells instant death. The scenario in Alien 8 is different from its predecessor and the quality of graphics is even higher.

Wizard's Lair from Bubble Bus is an Atic Atac lookalike with shades of Sabre Wulf and is an excellent game, even if you have seen the same sort of thing before. Bubble Bus has made some attempt to change the scenario which covers three levels, accessed via a magic wardrobe lift.

The programmers of Firebird's Cylu were influenced by Alien 8. Cylu is in the Silver range and at £2.50 represents very good value - it is almost as frustrating as the original but the graphics are a little patchy. Ultimate should be proud that so many companies want to copy their games, though it's a crying shame that those same software houses cannot put their combined programming expertise to good use, and produce something original of their own.

Games featuring film scenarios and famous names are often the subject of massive advertising campaigns, and Domark's A View to a Kill was no exception. Played in three parts you must guide the intrepid 007 through the streets of Paris, San Francisco and into Silicon Valley to stop the evil Max Zorin from tipping chip valley into the drink. The game received mixed reviews but, at the time of writing, it had just made it into the top ten - probably due to the James Bond name. It is an exciting game but lacks much visual detail.

The Rocky Horror Show from CRL is already sliding down the charts and does not live up to its namesakes, the film and play. Rescue Janet or Brad from the Medusa machine by finding 15 component parts of the de-Medusa machine. It sounds riveting. Your task seems enormous as you can carry only one part of the machine at a time and if you expect to meet normal sane characters in the castle, forget it. More could have been made of the graphics and the action is slow in places, but it is worth playing if only to meet Magenta who will strip you of your clothes. Wow!

Beyond's Spy vs Spy is unique and features simultaneous play between two players on a split screen. Take part in the zany humour of MAD magazine's two famous characters, the black spy and the white spy, each trying to stop the other finding secret documents in a foreign embassy. Set whacky traps as you ransack each room before escaping to the airport. It is fun, highly addictive and very amusing. Buying the licence to films, books and names is an expensive business, and at last one company has made the most of it with an excellent game.

It is interesting to note that when one unusual game is launched others of a similar nature swiftly follow. Perhaps all programmers follow the same thought waves. Last summer we had an unusual trio of games, reviewed in May, June and August issues. Two are based on the human body - not the most obvious subject for a game.

Quicksilva's Fantastic Voyage is a thrilling game based on the sixties film of the same name, in which Raquel Welch is injected into the body of a brain damaged scientist. Unfortunately, your mini-sub breaks up and you have only one hour to locate all the missing parts. Searching is a novel experience as you rush from atrium to stomach to lung and heart in a never ending circle. Finding your way to the brain is difficult as it is not signposted and the turning is easy to miss. Dine on red blood cells to keep up your energy and clear any infections which frequently break out - normally in the most inaccessible parts of the scientist's anatomy. A great way to learn about your bits, and where they are situated.

Icon's Frankenstien 2000 bears little resemblance to Fantastic Voyage, though it is played in a monster's body. Whoever heard of monsters smoking fags? This one obviously did and that is probably why it's dead. On reaching the lungs, battle with cigarette packets, avoid hopping frogs in the trachea, and fire at any oxygen molecules it is your misfortune to encounter. The graphics are uninspired and the game is simple.

Genesis' Bodyworks was reviewed in June and it is difficult to know what to make of it. It is hardly an arcade game - more of an illustrated, educational tour of the workings of a human body, describing the nervous, circulatory and respiratory systems.

Space Invaders was one of the first great games on the Spectrum and software houses have never tired of the theme. Space games crop up in all categories; simulations, adventures and arcade adventures. Activision has even brought out Ballblazer, a sports game played in space. Way out!

Moon Cresta from Incentive is a traditional game in which you shoot everything in sight, and then dock with another space ship before taking off to do exactly the same on the next level. With complex games like Starion around one would think that games of this calibre would flop. But no, there must be some people around whose brains are in their trigger fingers. Surprisingly, Moon Cresta is creeping up the charts. Long live the aliens.

Melbourne House's Starion takes space travel seriously and combines a number of features, including the traditional shoot 'em up, word puzzles and anagrams. Kill off enemy space ships and collect the letters they drop, then unscramble those to form a word. Fly down to earth and answer a puzzle to change the course of Earth's history. There are 243 events to rewrite - and that amounts to a lot of flying time. Starion is well up in the top ten.

System 3 has come up with the goods against all opposition with the dreadful Death Star Interceptor, which has proved surprisingly popular. If you are really into boring games, this is right up your alley. Played in three sections, first take off into outer space, next avoid assorted aliens and then, as in Star Wars, plant a bomb in the exhaust port of an enemy death star. It is all thrilling stuff.

Quicksilva's Glass is amazing to look at. Psychedelic colours make you want to blink in this repetitive but addictive game. There are hundreds of screens to blast through, and whole sections are spent dodging columns as you hurtle through a 3D spacescape. The rest of the time is spent shooting radar antennae off unsuspecting space ships. The graphics make up for any limitations in the game and demonstrates that a traditional shoot 'em up need not be boring.

This final section consists of a number of games which cannot be categorised. A strange mixture falls into this area - many are shoot 'em ups in some form or another, others require an element of cunning and strategy.

Gyron from Firebird, a Sinclair User classic, is a unique game in which you must travel through a complex maze, dodging massive rolling balls and keeping a watchful eye on the guardian towers to be round at each junction. Those shoot at you, but approaching from another angle may change the direction of their fire. As there are two mazes to get through, it should take months. Gyron is likely to deter arcade nuts, but for those with staying power, it is an attractive proposition. It did make a brief appearance in the top ten at the time of writing, but has since fallen away.

US Gold's Spy Hunter, based on the arcade game of the same name, is a faithful replica of the original. It all takes place on the road as you drive your souped-up sports car through a variety of traps laid down by the baddies. Equip your motor with a variety of weapons, obtainable from a weapons van which you drive into Italian Job style. Rockets, smoke screens and oil slicks are all strongly reminiscent of 007.

Elite's Airwolf is a game that we found so hard as to be almost impossible, and which everyone else seemed to find a cinch - and told us so in no uncertain terms! Try if you can, to fly your chopper down a long, narrow tunnel to rescue five scientists stuck at the end. Blast your way through walls, which rematerialise as fast as you can destroy them - a well nigh impossible task for those whose trigger fingers and joysticks have suffered from the likes of Daley Thomson's Decathlon. Airwolf has done better than we predicted. You can't win them all.

Ghostbusters, the mega box office hit last Christmas was a prime candidate for a computer game and Activision was first to the ghost. Featuring all the best parts of the film, it was an instant success and Activision did well to launch it simultaneously with the movie. Drive around the city coaxing ghouls into your ghost trap but listen out for a Marshmallow Alert. That giant sticky marshmallow man is quite capable of flattening whole streets unless halted. Greenbacks play an important part in the game as you have to buy your equipment to get started, and earn enough prize money for the number of ghosts caught, in order to take part in a final showdown with Zuul.

Finally Tapper from US Gold - another Sinclair User classic. Tapper is a simple but refreshing game centered round an all-American soda bar. You play a harassed barman, who must serve his customers with drinks. Easy at first as you slide them down the bar but wait until they have gulped down the fizzy stuff. Running backwards and forwards between four bars, make sure the customers have got a drink, and catch the empties as they come skidding back. There are three difficulty levels, each one faster and more hectic than the last. Tapper is moving up the charts and we are sure that it will go far towards refreshing the parts other games cannot reach.

The fierce competition over the last 12 months has chased many companies into liquidation. There have, however, been successes, particularly with a number of small software houses bringing new blood into the market. That can only be seen as a healthy sign.

The lack of QL games software is the only disappointment. Where is it? Other than a few basic programs such as Reversi, which cut its eye teeth on the ZX-81 years ago, there has been a dearth of games for this flagging micro. If games of the quality of Knight Lore can be produced for the Spectrum, why not for the QL?