Roger: This knockabout Nordic wargame features up to four armies slapping each other around a map showing angular fjords and the various battle formations. Swordplay, siege catapults and searfaring sorties are only a part of the potential conflict.

The hordes of Wotan The Wicked, Odin The Odious, Brunhilda The Bold and Egbert The Exccrable, swarm across the northern tundra to battle it out under human control or computer substitution. But it's nothing to go berserk about!

To enjoy such uncivilised and aggressive behaviour demands a special penchant for this type of action, because the graphics are seriously underwhelming. The kick must be on a cerebral strategy scale but, if it is, I failed to find the fun and my concentration swiftly withered into plug-pulling boredom. If it's supposed to be about Scandinavian rape, pillage and loot tendencies, I think I'll stick to the crispbread... 1/5 MISS

Dave: I've always found something lacking in Speccy strategy games. For the price though Viking Raiders is pretty good value if you're a strategist. 2/5 MISS

Ross: This war game is slow and basic (in both senses). Still, I like the bit when your army stumbles on some booze and gets rapidly drunk. I knowhow they feel. 1/5 MISS

BARGAINS ARE BOOTYFUL

BOOTY
Memory: 48K
Price: £2.50
Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair, Programmable

VIKING RAIDERS
Memory: 48K
Price: £2.50

THE WILD BUNCH
Memory: 48K
Price: £2.50

EXODUS
Memory: 48K
Price: £2.50
Joystick: Cursor, Kempston

In a bid to capitalise on the computer gaming scene, British Telecom has recently entered the market with their Silver range of games - priced at £2.50.

They are a mixed bag. BT's claim that the games are worthy of a five pound price tag seems to be applicable to only two of the games reviewed here. The remaining two would be expensive at any price over £2.50.

In Booty, you play the pan of Jim the Cabin Boy who finds himself aboard the infamous pirate ship - the Black Galleon. One night while most of the pirates are sitting down to a steady drinking spree Jim creeps round the levels of the ship to steal their loot.

However, life is not always a game and Jim finds himself in the suds when he realises that not all the pirates are drunk - some have been left on guard. To get into their cabins, he has to steal the keys from under their noses.

The graphics are excellent with half the game portrayed in the increasingly popular style reminiscent of Sabre Wulf and Pyjamarama.

Viking Raiders is a different kettle of fish. It is a strategy game set amongst warfaring vikings back in the days of King Canute.

There are four armies, each headed by a Viking chief. The aim is to defeat the other three armies and become victor and ruler of the area. Dirty tricks abound and your catapults can be used to devastating effect.

The graphics are sparse and basic. Each army takes a different colour which is hard on the eyes. Bright blues, pinks and greens may look nice in the programmer's imagination but they look terrible to the player who has to squint to see what is going on. However, there is enough appeal in the game to detract from these basic graphics.

The remaining two games are The Wild Bunch and Exodus. The Wild Bunch is an adventure set in the wild west. Framed for a murder you didn't commit, you are out to nail the Wild Bunch. The game resembles a superior multiple choice with a selection of options given to you at every move.

Adventures written in that style are rarely as exciting as those written in the more conventional mode - they rapidly become tedious. Billed as a graphical adventure, The Wild Bunch has a few scenes dotted around the adventure which are well depicted. For the most part though it appears to be mostly text.

Exodus is your average arcade game packed with characters cloned from other games. Mutant llamas abound, hovver mowers, galleons and TV sets lurk and assorted aliens merely wait to get you. The game lacks excitement, the graphics flicker and the sound is fairly average.

MACHINE: Spectrum
SUPPLIER: Firebird
PRICE: £2.50

Viking Raiders is just one of the flood games from Firebird - British Telecom's software spinoff who have entered the budget price game market. And a nice little game it is too. You take part in a battle between four Viking overlords. Four human players can fight it out - or any combination human and computer players.

The battlefield features fjords which freeze over as the game progresses making the movement of armies easier, although you can use all the gold you have in the VSB Viking Savings Bank stupid! - to buy longboats, armies and catapults.

The aim of the game is to move your forces around the battlefield and conquer your opponents' castles - before they do the same to you.

The characters - like Odin the Odious and Wotan the Wicked - have their own specific characteristics, and are amusing too! There is even a wicked lady Viking warrior - just as tricky as the men.

The program is well presented, with lots useful prompts which flash up at the bottom of the screen during loading and play. The documentation is good - backed up by good instruction screens within the gameitself.

The graphics are not much to write home about - but who cares when you can get an entertaining game for just £2.50. Good value, Firebird!