Breakout in isometric 3D - now that sounds interesting. As well as a ball, the bat is also armed with some missiles, which you'll need to blast the monsters and certain bricks. It's not just a case of destroying all the bricks; on some screens, you'll have to make use of the power-ups that are there. It has got some colourful graphics, and the music is pretty good (although it can be switched off), but the isometric style doesn't work well, as it's difficult to judge where the ball will go. There is also a sequel, Ballbreaker II, with lots of new levels for you to try out.

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Meet Eric, a bouncy green ball. What he has to do is to make all the tiles in one layer the same colour as the one shown below the TV screen by continuously bouncing on it. When you've done that, another layer appears, until you reach the tile below the TV and go on to the next level. Various objects appear from the TV to make your life that little bit harder, though, but there are lots of bonuses to collect as they fall from the roof. This game is rather average and is a bit easy as you start with about ten lives, and I think it's really aimed more at children.

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Balloon Buster
(Blue Ribbon, 1989)

Buster the clown has to burst all the balloons on each level in the correct sequence of colours - red, green, yellow and blue - by throwing a ball into the air, and he can only burst one balloon at a time. He also has a time limit to beat. It really is a children's game and it shows. For a start, it's a bit easy, and each time you lose, you can simply restart from the level you were on. It's true that it's extremely colourful, but not only is it easy, it also becomes boring rather quickly.

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Banger racing involves a lot of people driving unroadworthy cars around an oval circuit and smashing into each other, with the sole survivor being declared the winner. In this management simulation (well, what else did you expect from Cult?), you're a young racer taking part in a league consisting of three divisions, the aim being to reach the top of Division 1. Each season consists of 30 races, in which around 20 drivers compete. You start off with a fairly poor car and not much skill, but booking training courses will help, and as you start to win prize money, you can improve your car, buy mechanics and get some sponsorship. This is one of Cult's better games, and it's the only game of its type that I know of, but the options are rather limited and it eventually becomes repetitive.

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Bangers and Mash are two chimpanzees who starred in their own TV cartoon show, and they get up to a lot of mischief. On this occasion, Bangers has been rather naughty, so his mother sends him into the jungle to collect some fruit for a nice tart she's preparing. The jungle is full of nasty creatures which kill Bangers on contact - hedgehogs, giant ladybirds (!) and Venus fly-traps. You must also watch out for ghosts and Witch Snitchnose. Diamonds as well as fruit can be collected for bonus points, and some flowers have interesting effects if you touch them. This would be a reasonably good game - the graphics are cheerful, and the jolly TV theme tune is also present - but it's much too hard, and the levels are too big.

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Hegor the Barbarian must enter the underground realm of Durgan and slay the evil Necron in order to become ruler of the kingdom and gain the crown. You won't be surprised to hear that this involves lots of sword fighting and slaying a lot of monsters throughout your quest. Although it's a platform game, you control Hegor through the use of an icon system, allowing you to jump, somersault, pick up, drop, select and use weapons. Fortunately, there are very few - maybe even no - situations where you are in immediate danger, so you have time to select the correct icon without losing a life. The graphics and animation are excellent, and although the game may not be fast-paced and full of action, it's still fairly satisfactory overall.

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Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior
(Palace, 1987)

Princess Mariana has been captured by the evil Drax, and to rescue her, he has challenged you to a series of fights against his toughest warriors. You may remember that the advertisements for this game were a bit controversial, featuring an almost naked Maria Whittaker as the princess, and Michael van Wijk (Wolf out of the TV programme Gladiators) as the barbarian. You can also practice your skills, or play against a friend. This is a great game with some really good animation and beautiful scenery, and some excellent atmospheric music. It's also fun because you can chop your opponent's head off with the right move, as shown in the screenshot!

See also: Barbarian II.

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Having thought you'd dispatched the bald-headed evil wizard in the first adventure, you find that you must fight your way again to defeat Drax. This time you have the choice of the Barbarian or the curvaceous Princess to chop and slash your way through a plethora of various monsters - not humans this time - which are each defeated differently, against a wide selection of pretty backdrops which connect to form a labyrinth our heroes have to travel through to confront your enemy in the final showdown. Essentially, apart from the same look and feel (which is welcome), this is a different type of game from its predecessor; there's no two player action (as in no head chops) and it thereby suffers for it. Incidentally, the cartridge version is exactly the same as the normal CPC version!

See also: Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior.

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You have been sent down into the Great Barrier Reef in a submarine to collect lots of cash, although I don't know how it got there. The reef is really a large maze, and you'll find some sections cut off - but there are bombs lying around which will enable you to reach other sections of the reef. Watch your oxygen levels as well, and don't touch the fish, or you'll lose one of your nine lives. This is just a bog-standard exploration game with poor graphics and sound effects, and little variety in the gameplay. Avoid it!

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Barry McGuigan's World Championship Boxing
(Activision, 1985)
Reviewed by Guillaume Chalard

Here's another boxing game, based upon the legendary Irish featherweight champion. The first interesting feature is that you begin the game before the fight. You have ten weeks to practice and you can choose between several activities to improve your strength and stamina (e.g. roadwork, heavy bag, sparring). You can also choose your opponent, which brings a little 'simulation' touch to the game. The fights are rather realistic; knockouts are really well rendered. Unlike many other games, you can block the punches of your opponents, and an uppercut doesn't look like a right hook. The sound of the crowd, which increases when the fight toughens, is great too. Though it shows its age, it is still a good game.

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