Blue Ribbon Software
£2.99

Syntax? Where did they get that name from! Earth is once again in great peril. Rebel forces, for twenty years bent on popping the earth, have now taken over the planet Syntax.

Their plan is to use the planet's molten core to fuel a new weapon, a computer controlled sub-atomic disintegrator (oh no, not one of those!). Banging away building this weapon brings them to the notice of earth authorities, and now volunteers are needed to go and stop the rebel plan...

Stupidly you volunteer to go on this suicide mission, and now you're stuck with it. You must go to the planet and find the ten crystals which will save earth from certain doom.

What Syntax boils down to is one of those scrolly, over detailed background shoot 'em ups: totally confusing, especially when it is all in monochrome. The game is put together really badly and full of stupid programming mistakes. You might get some enjoyment out of this if you are a glutton for punishment, otherwise look elsewhere.

BARGAIN BASEMENT

Never a man to miss out on a spicy low-pricey, Jonathan Davies sifts through this month's batch of good, bad and downright ugly budget games.

Blue Ribbon
£2.99
Reviewer: Jonathan Davies

Syntax is a four-way scrolling shooter in which you have to save the day by finding ten deactivation crystals to drop into the baddies' ventilation shafts. There are various ground features which, if flown over, will produce desirable effects. The action is viewed from overhead, Uridium-style.

That's the theory anyway - in practice things are rather different. To tell the truth, this is quite possibly the worst game I have ever played. Apart from Transylvanian Tower perhaps, but that was in a different league altogether. The scrolling is jerky, your 'impulse drive fighter' is nauseatingly unmanoeuvrable, there are only two different sound effects (a beep and a slightly higher beep) and even the Sinclair character set makes a special guest appearance. Other problems include dodgy collision detection, primitive graphics, cursor-key controls... I could go on for hours. The fact is it's practically impossible to tell what you can fly over and what you can't.

Dreadful. Quite dreadful.