£2.99
Atlantis

Ahh! Skwibbles are wittle cuts cweatures wiv poppy out eyes and big bellies (Nick dissolves into a gooey mess). And only you can stop them from becoming extinct. They are dotted around the planet Kosmos and you must rescue them and return them to Earth. It may sound like an easy mission, and it would be if the inhabitants of Kosmos weren't so nasty and your space ship hadn't broken.

The Skwibbles are also hungry little fellows and you must keep stuffing them with space fruit otherwise they will keel over and pop off.

You can pick up objects, some useful and some not, as well as buying them from space traders. Bits of spaceship and a refueller are the main things on the shopping list (get time some milk too Nick - Nick's mum). ID cards are also very useful.

I really love the way Kosmos is put together. It's full of jokes and cartoony bits that will have you in stitches. For example, when all your energy has gone, your little spaceman comes onto the screen and kicks a bucket (ha, ha!). All the graphics are very detailed with a good use of colour, making the game a joy to play. There is a jolly tune on the title screen and effects during play. I recommend Kosmos to anybody and everybody, so go out and get it now!

BARGAIN BASEMENT

He's chirpy and chatty, he's the chap with the cheapies, he's Marcus Berkmann, and he's back with a meaty BARGAIN BASEMENT.

Atlantis
£1.99
Reviewer: Marcus Berkmann

An enjoyable, Joe Bladey sort of game - as original as Sunblest but no less fun for that. Your mission is to rescue four stranded Skwibbles - strange, bug-eyed, badly spelt creatures who exist on a diet of exotic fruit and are stuck on the no less well spelt planet of Kosmos. Trouble is, your spaceship is crocked and the aliens want your blood, plus you've got a fairly tricky control system to handle as well. When you've sorted this out though, there's a fairly entertaining little game hiding in there. You wander about finding the Sqwibbles (easy), keeping them alive (less easy) and finally getting off the planet with your spaceship repaired and your own person in full rude health (damn near impossible). Now, I hear you saying, shouting, or possibly even screaming, haven't we heard all this before? Well, yes, of course we have, but the important thing here is that all the old formulas have been juggled around to produce a game that still makes you want to have just one more go (as opposed to one less go, like some of the other cheapies this month). That's good enough for me, and I'm sure you'll like it too.

Spectrum
£1.99

As you probably know the Skwibble has been hunted to the bounds of extinction by the inhabitants of Kosmos. In fact there are only four left, and it's up to you to go to Kosmos, find 'em, rescue 'em and keep "em alive for the trip back to Earth. Believe it or not, this means a trip through stacks of screens, picking up fruit for the Skwibbles and bits to repair your spaceship, which was damaged on landing (sorry, didn't I mention that?).

Kosmos is another one of those arcade adventures which seem to proliferate on Spectrum budget labels - loads of screens, tidy graphics, reasonably compulsive. Make a map. shoot the odd alien, and Bob's your Skwibble's auntie. If you liked Starquake, the Magic Knight games, etc. etc you'll probably like this one.