A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

	Baby Jo (Loriciel, 1992) Baby Jo is lost in the park, and his mother is worried about him, but being a strong and brave little baby, he makes his own way home. There are four levels which take Jo through the park and some caves and mine shafts, before emerging again in a housing estate and his mother's house. This is a jolly platform game which has 'cute' written all over it; the graphics in particular are marvellous and really colourful, and the scenery and the types of monsters that Jo faces are also cute. The levels are big and are divided into several sections; if you lose a life, you restart at the beginning of the section you died on. There are also passwords for each level, which is also very helpful. The only problem with the game is that there is no sound at all! More information on TACGR 8
	Bachou (Central Solutions, 1986) Back in the early days of the CPC, Central Solutions were well known for always releasing games that were truly abysmal, and this is no exception. Aliens have invaded Earth and are destroying the cities, and you must shoot them. How original is that? Each level takes place on the same single screen with four cities represented at the bottom. The aliens zoom around the screen, dropping bombs on the cities, and if they are all destroyed, the game is over. If you shoot enough aliens, you can go to the next level, which is more or less the same as the previous one. The graphics and sound effects are primitive and there's nothing to make you want to have another go at the game. More information on TACGR 2
	Back to Reality (Mastertronic, 1986) The ship in which you are travelling has entered a black hole and emerged into a parallel universe. You have to get it back into the real universe by somehow making antimatter and combining it with matter. This is an adventure game which involves collecting objects and turning them into new objects, from which you eventually end up making antimatter. You'll need to be rather good at science to work out all the puzzles! You've also got a limited supply of oxygen which will need to be replenished frequently. The graphics are OK but the music (if you can call it that) is terrible, the man you control walks much too slowly, and at the end of the day, the game really isn't all that interesting. More information on TACGR 6
	Back to the Golden Age (UBI Soft, 1991) A great mage once ruled the world by using the power of four magical crystal balls, or Edres. The mage held one of the Edres, and three priests held another Edre each. However, one of the priests has stolen three of the Edres in an attempt to take over the world. You are Zad, and have been entrusted by the great mage to recover the missing Edres. This is an arcade adventure where you explore castles and dungeons, collect potions, fight knights and warriors, buy supplies, and cast various spells, although the descriptions of what they are used for are often very cryptic. The graphics and animation have been done superbly, and the game itself is really big and one which will keep you occupied for a long time. More information on TACGR 8
	Bactron (Loriciels, 1986) A patient is critically ill, and viruses are spreading around his body. Bactron - a yellow blob of antibiotics - must reactivate the enzymes which have been sterilised by the viruses. The game involves lots of exploration, trying to locate the enzymes in the patient's body while avoiding the viruses which will drain your energy if you touch them. It's a race against time as well; more viruses are being produced and the patient's temperature is rising. The enzymes are shown as yellow cubes, and activating them boosts Bactron's energy, but don't touch the light blue cubes! The rooms are viewed from an isometric perspective, and the graphics are absolutely gorgeous, especially considering the year it was released. The music is wonderful and really groovy, and it's a nice game with a clever plot. More information on TACGR 8
	Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja (Imagine, 1988) Reviewed by Ninja Wonderboy Ninja games are always welcome in my house, and this one has a plot to die for. Ronnie Reagan has been kidnapped by ninjas and you, as the 'Bad Dude' Blade, must rescue him. But instead of launching a full-scale investigation, Blade sets out to find the President by walking along the back of trucks and through the sewers, taking on whole armies of ninjas! Cool! Well, actually, not that cool, because this game could have been so much better. The graphics are nice and colourful, if a little blocky, and the sound is fine; it's just the lack of a two-player option, and a general rushed feel to the game that let it down. Still, lots of cool power-ups, a good variety of levels and some great end-of-level bosses rise this above the average. More information on TACGR 7
	Badlands (Domark, 1990) Most of the Earth has been turned into a wasteland, and the only form of entertainment is racing, with bullets and missiles. There are three drones (cars), and to stay in the game, you must win all the races which take place over four laps, although there are oil slicks, bombs, and spikes which litter each track. During the race, spanners appear on the track, and collecting these lets you upgrade the car or buy some missiles. The game is too easy, though, and you can tell it's a Spectrum port by the graphics - they're terrible! More information on TACGR 3
	Bad Max (Transoft, 1985) Reviewed by Guillaume Chalard This adventure game, taking place in a neo-punk universe (hence its title), is a failed attempt at creating a game using stereo vision. Remember the movie Jaws 3-D, which you had to watch wearing ridiculous red and blue glasses? Well, if you have a pair of these glasses left, you may have a look at this game. At best, you'll get a real headache! Now, the graphics (in red and blue) are far from great, the parser is rather poor (but at least you can get the list of all possible actions, which is useful), and you must be familiar with French slang if you wish to understand a few sentences. Consider it as a curiosity... More information on TACGR 4
	Ball Bearing (Radical, 1993) Isn't it amazing how the simplest ideas often result in the best games? As an example, take nine levels of horizontally scrolling action, and make the player control a metal ball, but only allowing them to move it up or down while it bounces left and right off the walls. It really is surprisingly addictive. Your aim is to collect all the rings on each level, although a bug in the game means you can avoid collecting one ring. There are various power-ups to collect, some of which are nasty and alter the ball's controls. Even with three lives, the levels aren't very tough, but you will keep coming back to it. More information on TACGR 9
	Ballblazer (Activision/Lucasfilm, 1987) A thousand years in the future, Ballblazer is the most popular sport in the galaxy. It's a very simple game where two players control a vehicle known as a rotofoil and hit a ball (or a plasmorb as it's known in Ballblazer) into the opponent's goal. Each game can last between one and ten minutes, and the first player to score five goals, or the most goals when the time has run out, is the winner. It sounds simple, but it's rather tricky to play. There's no map to let you know where you are on the pitch, although when you've got the ball, you'll always face your opponent's goal. Getting the ball off your opponent is also frustrating, especially on the higher skill levels (there are ten in total). It is a very fast-paced game, but it also has some flaws. More information on TACGR 7

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