Billy is a streetwise suburban guy ("la banlieue" is French for "the suburbs", by the way), and this is a platform game in which Billy has to explore the suburbs, meet other people on the streets, and find the right objects to give to them. The graphics are superb, especially when you consider when this game was released. However, it is let down by the controls; getting Billy to jump over gaps is often very frustrating indeed, and you'll often need to position him precisely to climb walls and reach other platforms – and on that point, if you're going to play it, please note that you cannot walk past stairs!

See also: Billy 2.

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Are you a sharp shooter like Billy? This game has three parts to it – target practice where you shoot tin cans and bottles, an escape from a bank where you shoot all the enemies while avoiding the civilians, and a showdown at high noon which really tests your reflexes; shoot the enemy cowboy within a second or die. Each level consists of these three parts, so they all contain the same thing – not that you'll get past the second level, because the score you have to achieve is unreasonably large. The Spectrum-like graphics don't help either, but I suppose it's OK if you want a quick test of your agility.

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5

Billy is back and ready to beat up a few more of the thugs that wander the streets of the suburbs. By beating them up, he can earn some money to buy more energy. There are also some arcade machines where you can earn more money, although of course, you'll have to pay to use them. Unlike its predecessor, this is purely a beat-'em-up and doesn't involve much thinking. In fact, it seems that all there is to the game is beating up gang members, and the playing area seems to be much smaller. The graphics are still nice, but the gameplay must have gone missing somewhere.

See also: Billy la Banlieue.

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4

This game, when released, would have been an acceptable offering to your collection as the CPC was still relatively new. You play the part of Binky, who has to paint the floors of all 21 storeys of a hazardous building. Binky is the only one who can change this by simply moving along the floor and painting it as he goes. Very dated sound effects mix with basic-looking visuals. It's odd to see the nasties falling to their deaths as they move randomly, although there are homing beach balls on later levels.

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4

Some time ago, aliens laid waste to your planet, and now they've built a huge weapon to destroy all life on the planet. It's up to you to make your way to the missile silo and deactivate the weapon before it's too late. When you first play this game, you'll think you're using a Spectrum. The graphics are truly appalling – some of the worst ever seen on a CPC! In fact, the game comes in versions for colour and green screen monitors – not that there is much difference between the two. As for the sound, there's no tune and the effects are useless. Despite this, it's still OK to play, although the game is somewhat dull and uninspiring.

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5

The Icarus Earth base is under attack, and six ninjabots have been sent to the base to smash the aliens. Each ninjabot – an android with ninja fighting skills – is sent out one at a time, and you control them as you move through each of the levels, destroying the aliens using shurikens, your samurai sword, or your bare metal fists. In summary, it's a fairly average mixture of a platform game and a beat-'em-up. The graphics aren't all that good – actually, they're messy and garish – and there are very few sound effects. The gameplay isn't challenging enough to make it all that interesting.

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6

In a network of labyrinths, several bio-bombs have been planted, and it's your task to blow up the bio-bomb on each level. However, you must first find the six parts of the bio-shield before attempting to shoot it – shooting the bomb without the shield is not a good idea! Of course, there are lots of nasty creatures floating about the labyrinths, and they tend to drain your life force rather quickly. You can also collect accelerators (smart bombs) and use them to help you kill lots of nasties at once. I have to say that this is really rather good – the graphics are well drawn and there's some nice music to be heard in between levels, and it's a lot of fun to play as well.

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7

An interesting game, this one; what would it be like to be a bird? This game sees you controlling a bird, flying to some unknown destination. The landscape is viewed in perspective 3D from behind the bird, and you must avoid bumping into trees and other obstacles. All this flying makes our feathered friend hungry, so he (or she – I don't know what sex the bird is) must look out for butterflies and eat them. Sadly, this original concept hasn't worked too well in this game, for while the graphics (particularly the animation of the bird) are great, the scrolling is very slow indeed, and there's no music and hardly any sound effects.

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5

Black Beard's old mate, Red Beard, has stolen his map of a treasure island after drinking too much rum again. Black Beard is angry and storms on to Red Beard's ship to find the map. As Black Beard, you have to roam the ship and open the treasure chests by firing bullets at them. There are invincibility potions and extra lives to collect, and one chest contains a torch which you must use to light the cannon next to the plank and prevent Red Beard's pirates from boarding the ship. Eventually, the final chest, which contains the map, will open. This is a mediocre game with all the action viewed from above. The graphics are quite good, but movement is sluggish and lives are easily lost by pirates appearing from nowhere.

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4

In the land of Areth, Abhaldos has contaminated the River Ist with a poison, turning the river black. You are Shardor, a servant in the court of the town of Loesp, who has been given the mission of cleaning up the river, by finding a magical crystal. This is a text adventure which was created with GAC. The scenario is set in a mediaeval fantasy land, and once you've left the court with the help of Garros the gatekeeper, you need to find some money and get the various craftsmen of Loesp to make objects for you. Unfortunately, the game doesn't let you discover what skills most of the craftsmen have and what objects you are supposed to ask them to make. The parser is quite unforgiving as well, and I'm not particularly impressed with the game.

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