Producer: The Edge
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £7.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Charles Bystram

With overtones of Monty Python (Life of Brian?) in the wrathful hand of God striking death by lightning to the careless games player, Brian Bloodaxe sets out on a quest full of Primary Imbalance. The Edge have abandoned 'Synurgy', what ever that was, for a more imbalanced start. Don't worry when after the animated title screen has finished doing its thing, the program crashes. Observant computer owners will notice that the Sinclair logo has become a bit moth-eaten and realise that everything is okay-yah. Soon the familiar Monty Python theme music comes up and you're away.

Away to where, you may wonder. Well the inlay doesn't help much - on purpose, as it states clearly enough. But Brian Bloodaxe is a Viking Rip Van Winkle who has woken up after being stuck in an ice block for hundreds of years. On reawakening he decides to do what he original set out to do, and conquer Britain, except now it's 1983 (a period piece as you see). Through 104 screens of platform-inspired jumping, Brian must steal the Crown Jewels and sit on the throne. The screens are variously designed, one of the early ones is a snooker table complete with killer balls for instance, and require jumping skills. Some objects can be picked up and used like the triangle on the same screen, which keeps the snooker balls away, put it can also be placed usefully and acts as a jumping platform. The larger of the hazards can be used similarly, like the duck whose back is broad and safe as long as you walk fast enough to keep up, but watch the beak!

Primary Imbalance seems to be a highly sophisticated programming method whereby things don't always work as you might expect. Water drowns, for instance, but Brian has a fine line in walking on water as long as he keeps bouncing. On the other hand, Primary Imbalance may be nothing more sophisticated than a game frustration factor depending on how you look at it. The ability to pick up objects and use them (Brian can only carry three at a time) does make Brian Bloodaxe into more than just a platform game, as the uses of the objects are critical to success and the Throne.

COMMENTS

Control keys: CAPS/Z left/right, C to jump, V/SPACE pick up/drop, X to use an object
Joystick: Kempston, Protek, AGF (auto detection), Sinclair 2
Keyboard play: responsive and simple to use
Use of colour: good, varied
Graphics: very good, large, well detailed and smooth
Sound: excellent continuous tune
Skill levels: 1
Lives: 3
Screens: 104

Brian Bloodaxe claims to have Primary Imbalance which suggests that anything could happen, and this is certainly the case. The Monty Python music also indicates that this is no ordinary game. BB is one of the arcade/adventure type games which these days seem to be the games and require thought as well as the customary skills. It has all sorts of happenings in it. To name a few, I found I could walk on the back of nasties but dies if I met their path - quite logical - but when jumping off a ledge onto another it decided to move away, leading Brian to a watery grave - quite illogical. So my advice is to expect anything. The idea of collecting objects to use as help as seen in Knight Lore is seen here too. Bloodaxe is an excellent game which is representative of the high class software which is being produced today.

Straight to the point, Brian Bloodaxe is a sort of souped-up platform game with a few major differences. The main one being that the objects you collect play an important role in performing another or several actions. Also, not everything that moves is deadly - did you know that sharks are safer from behind than in head on? The graphics are excellent and the sound is fab with a rare but appreciated continuous tune that doesn't appear to affect the movement of the graphics at all. The game is certainly fun to play though I think the platform idea has been a bit overworked and should be given a rest. But with that said Brian Bloodaxe is still a truly marvellous think, and a game which I don't think The dye could improve upon. I think Primary Imbalance refers to the hyperload - I had enough problems with that - or maybe the game is played better when you balance upside down on one finger!

I think I've discovered what Primary Imbalance is. It is that it takes so many attempts to load it and then you try the other side just for luck and it loads straight away! I think this has to be one of the most infuriating games I have ever played. It has good graphics and sound, everything is well drawn and moves well (apart from the Rhinos) and the only thing lacking is the instructions! There are some but they are not intended to help at all so bird-brains have to work it all out for themselves.

Ross: Brian Bloodaxe is the first game to feature 'Primary Imbalance'. Hmm - presumably that means it's really zany and has whacky graphics!

As Brian (the Viking), you have to slog through some 104 screens in an attempt to collect the crown jewels, and anyone who manages it can sit on the Throne. In fact, the game's a 'Jet Set' look-alike, but one that's made more complex than most because of the need to carry up to three objects at once and use them in various locations - for example, a red key raises a red portcullis, and so on.

The graphics which inhabit the various screens are all well drawn and animated, and some are very large indeed. They'll not kill the instant you touch, but each contact reduces your energy level.

You can use the graphics to assist your progress on-screen - by hopping on and off them! The game is not as precise as JSW but it does offer something rather different.

Some screens repeat, which suggests there may not be 104 unique locations in total. On the other hand, that's more than made up for by the wide variety of things Brian is able to do. I his one is worth a go! So, go for it! 4.5/5 HIT

Dave: At first sight I thought 'Oh no! Not another platform game!'. But I was wrong - there's much more to do than usual, and the some of the graphics are superb! 4/5 HIT

Roger: Another JSW clone, but who needs it? I certainly don't - I want one where you ride a motorbike on-screen... go to it, you Edge people! 2/5 HIT

BRIAN BLOODAXE
The Edge
Memory: 48K
Price: £7.95
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Sinclair

Right from the opening screens of Brian Bloodaxe, which simulate your Spectrum failing to load the program, you know you are entering the upper atmosphere of lunacy.

Brian is a viking, who has been frozen for centuries in a block of ice. On thawing, he decides to conquer the British, who live in 100 screens of Jet Set Willy-style arcade action.

Objects are scattered liberally about the screens, and you will need to engage in some pretty dubious imaginative thought to work out their purposes. Monsters range from ducks to Daleks, Mad Scotsmen to Turkish soldiers.

Those objects, of which you can carry three at a time, can be used to block the path of monsters or to make extra platforms. They are solid, and do not fall when dropped, and thus provide a means of leaping across blank areas of the screen. Getting the correct objects to the correct places, is, however, a daunting task.

Brian Bloodaxe is not original in concept, but the only game we have seen based on the Jet Set Willy theme to match that classic. It will be months before a solution is found to the quest for the Crown Jewels, and there is much incidental pleasure to be gained from the large sprite-style graphics and colourful visual humour. Brian Bloodaxe is a pleasant surprise in a market which has become a little turgid of late.

MACHINE: Spectrum
SUPPLIER: The Edge
PRICE: £7.95

At last, a game that lives up to all the pre-release publicity! Bria Bloodaxe, latest from The Edge, is simply terrific!

Bloodaxe takes the Manic Miner/Jet Set Willy style of game one and a half steps further with an array of 100 screens and 300 nasties plus a feature called "primary imbalance". I've still to work out quite what that is!

Brian Bloodaxe is a cute looking Viking, complete with a horned helmet which he uses dispatch attacking nasties. The helmet comes in useful in tight corners too - he can use the horns to stick himself to the roof and avoid his enemies!

Our hero a travel through a "Miner" style world where each screen represents somewhere in the British isles. For example, a pool table = Poole, geddit?

Each screen also represents a considerable challenge - even to the seasoned member of the Jet Set fan club. There are objects to be found and puzzles to be solved - but watch out for hidden traps. And rampaging rhinos!

Graphics are great, especially Brian - and the rampaging rhinos! The soundtrack, a version of the famous Monty Python TV show theme tune, is fun and the game will demand all your computer time for the next few weeks - or months.

Brian Bloodaxe, just as the blurb says, takes Jet Set Willy one stage further. Don't fail to check this one out! But what is "primary imbalance"? Answers on a postcard please... And Professor Video can't wait to get his hands on a map!

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
CONTROL: Keys, Curs, Kemp, Snc
FROM: The Edge, £7.95

No, it's not another Viking adventure game from Level 9, it's a wacky, way-out, wonky, and extremely challenging platform game with over 100 screens and 300 sprites, quirky surprises, and objects to collect.

Your on-screen identity is in the care of one Brian Bloodaxe, a horn-helmeted hero who can move and jump in all the usual directions as well as pick up, drop, or use assorted items as and when he comes across them.

Items include pints of lager to boost your energy, which otherwise deteriorates as you move about. The display also shows your score, the current hi-score, and a group of little Vikings (representing whatever remains of your four lives) doing the hokey-cokey in the corner.

Other essential articles include various different colour keys which will enable you to open similarly coloured gates to proceed to new pillaging grounds.

The sprites also have their surprises. Ducks, for example, may trample you to death, but you can also jump onto their backs and from there to another screen. Platforms that look safe and secure may suddenly dodge out of the way if you jump towards them.

In fact, there are a whole host of unusual features in this game. Your horny helmet, for example, isn't just there for the sake of appearances - it can be a real pain in the backside for some of your opponents. What's more, you can jump and stick yourself to the ceiling sometimes if you're in a really tight spot.

Other innovations include the ability to dig through platforms (sometimes the only way to access certain areas) - but find your spade first. One screen even features a giant pool table, which will almost certainly have you snookered if you're not very careful. If you fancy a bit of a shoot-'em-up, there's even a pistol to be found.

If you've been playing Knight Lore, you'll be familiar with the idea of using objects as stepping stones. Brian can drop an object, climb onto it, and then jump for all he's worth to reach otherwise inaccessible areas.

Some great music starts the game and play is accompanied by melodious beeps. Every screen has a humorous link with a town or area of Great Britain (Snooker table = Poole, geddit?) and your task is nothing less than the conquest of every square inch of GB. Yes, Brian, definitely a platform game that has the edge over all the others...

This Norse-variant of the platform theme will really keep the Viking blood running hot. Not only plenty of screens, but lots of unusual ways to get across them.

There are surprises around every corner, and the most obvious way of crossing the screen is not necessarily the best. For instance, if you were faced with an impassable stretch of water, would you consider trying to walk on it, or even hitch a lift from a passing shark?

The main problem is not knowing what you can or can't walk on safely. Also, be very careful, because some objects may be okay when you're on top, but deadly otherwise.

MARCUS JEFFERY

For those who are looking out for a decent platform game, this is the one to get hold of. I particularly liked the idea of each screen being a proper location and the variety of Brian's nicely drawn enemies is commendable. However, most of you Spectrum owners will have got dozens of platform games like this and despite its many original touches, Brian is a little too closely related to our friend Willy.

ALAN GREEN

Basically another platform game, but there's some nice touches, such as being able to jump ON baddies but not walk into them and Brian's amazing ability to walk on water and hang from wooden platforms using his horned helmet.

Oh, by the way, watch out for the loading error hoax at the beginning - it nearly got me! A lot of fun if you're into jokes.

SAMANTHA HEMENS

Spectrum 48K
The Edge
Arcade Adventure
£7.95

Over-hyped little number from the cutting Edge of Softek. Features over 100 screens, with more than 300 foes weapons and surprises. Every screen presents a logical problem - but what computer game doesn't? Graphically pedestrian, should have been released on the Softek label at a more reasonable price. Plays Sousa march, as per Monty Python - an old BBC TV comedy series, apparently.

£5.95
The Edge

The first ever game to feature "Primary Imbalance" quoth the insert. I still don't know for sure what it is but I hazard a guess that it is the silly/unlikely solutions to the problems such as walking on the Shark's fin!

You as Brian, have invaded the Brits in 1983, you have to wander round collecting and using objects until you get the crown jewels and sit on the throne. Once you have done that then the insert notes say the REAL task of the game will be explained.

This is a platform and jump type program but with a style of its own. It is unfair to categorise it more than generally, each screen is carefully laid out in line with the plot, although no attempt to stay in a logical time sequence has been made - Nights and Cruise missiles in the same game!

The animation is very good, movements and jumps must be timed accurately, I'm afraid that I didn't get very far before I had to write this review, but it is one that I shall be going back to. There is a great deal of influence from the Monty Python team in the (il)logic of this program, this is implicitly acknowledged in the cassette picture and the ear curdling music. It was not hard to get started, however I soon got stuck only a couple of screens into the 100 that are there to be explored. Quite often I found myself sitting and trying to puzzle out the next move, not too successfully in most cases - although I enjoy adventures, some of the logic baffled and exasperated me!

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?