Gazza II
(Empire, 1990)

This is a really nice football game, although it doesn't allow you to play in a league or a knockout tournament. The difficulty of the game depends on who you choose to play against - Albania are the weakest team, Brazil the strongest. Alternatively, you can play with a friend, although there's an annoying bug where the two teams swap colours at half time. Two nice features are the boot-o-meter, allowing you to control the strength of your kicks by holding down the fire button, and a radar screen which shows where the ball and all the players are. The game is very easy to get into, and with an amazingly cool tune on the menu screen, it's a winner.

See also: Gazza's Super Soccer.

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8

In 1930s America, air races used to be held in which 'planes and their pilots would race around an open-air course which would usually be marked on the ground with pylons or other markers, and they proved to be very popular with the public. This game sees you taking part in such a race, except that there are sixteen courses to fly, and that instead of racing against other 'planes, you have to complete the course within a set time limit. However, you do have to dodge 'planes coming in the opposite direction! The music on the menu screen is nice, but the game is rather boring, the sound effects are poor, and the graphics are rather garish.

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5

Gemini Wing
(Virgin, 1989)

"DIE ALIEN MUTANT SCUM!," screamed the headline of the Soonday Spirit. Of course, the aliens took great offence to that, and now the entire galaxy has declared war against Earth. You've been sent out to stop them in the new Gemini Wing fighter. As well as the standard firepower, you can also collect power-ups in the form of gumballs which hang on to the tail of your craft, and they can be unleashed one at a time. To be honest, I don't like the game much. The graphics are nice, but the sound effects are pathetic and the collision detection is dodgy at the best of times.

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6

La Geste d'Artillac
(Infogrames, 1986)
Reviewed by Guillaume Chalard

Your father has been kidnapped and his house burnt to the ground. You pick a few items and try to find him in a strange and deserted land. This is the start of a good text adventure game, featuring nice MODE 1 graphics. Unfortunately, the plot is very, very linear and the game too short. All you can do is choose between two or three actions that appear in a window - and making the wrong choice often means death! There is no music, except at the very beginning (but it is rather bad anyway). However, it is an interesting game, where you always want to explore further.

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6

Let's put it in a few words: this game (known as Crafton et Xunk to French readers) is one of the very best for the CPC. You're Crafton, an android who tries to escape from an experimental project. You must obtain a code to open the door to the outside. In the building, there are eight scientists, each of whom has a part of the code. You'll be helped by Xunk, a podocephalus (i.e. a foot with a brain on top of it!), who calls you when he has found something interesting, and occasionally helps you to jump over obstacles (and aliens). There are too many great and hilarious things in this game for me to detail here. The graphics are colourful and well designed, and the sounds fit the action perfectly. It's funny, clever, and great!

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10

Save New York and the entire world from a disaster of biblical proportions in this spin-off from the hit film. Ghosts are converging on the evil Temple Of Zuul and the only way to stop them is by forming your own ghostbusting franchise with which you must make more money than you started with. Only after this and much ghost killing can you reach the final confrontation at the top of the temple. This is quite a poor game with crude graphics and annoying gameplay and although the music (including speech) is good, it is nothing more than an excuse to cash in on the film.

See also: Ghostbusters II.

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3

Pretty closely based on the movie of the same name, Ghostbusters II has some of the best graphics and sound you'll ever see or hear on the CPC. From the intro screen to the digitised scenes straight from the movie to the gorgeous levels, the graphics are simply awesome, and the spooky sound effects and spot-on version of the Ghostbusters theme tune complement the graphics nicely. There are only three levels, which is disappointing, but the sheer difficulty of the first level, which sees you descending down a manhole to investigate a river of slime, means you'll have to be a gaming god to see the other two levels - which are awesome. All in all, a great game in all respects except the stupid difficulty of the first level!

See also: Ghostbusters.

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9

Nightmare Mansion is well-named; it's home to some of the scariest creatures and monsters you can imagine! You're a macho muscle man who's been sent out to rescue your brother Buster from the mansion, but the mansion is too frightening even for you. Exploring the mansion reveals objects which you need to collect to gain access to other rooms, and you must also shoot any monsters which appear, otherwise the 'terrometer' will increase and you'll lose energy fast. It's not easy to get the hang of the game initially, but stick with it and you might well like it.

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7

This is a straightforward platform game that sees you, as a knight, fighting off numerous ghosts, zombies and other monsters. The first level is set in a graveyard, where you have to jump over gravestones and several rivers. The second level sees you on a ship, with more platform jumping involved, and the third level is in a dark cave. After that, the levels start repeating. This game is really showing its age - the graphics are basic, the concept is totally unoriginal, the collision detection is woeful, and above all else, it's too hard.

See also: Ghouls 'n' Ghosts.

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5

Ghouls
(Micropower, 1985)

This is essentially Pacman transformed into a platform game. You are trapped in a haunted mansion and have to eat all the jewels on the screen before you can go to the next level. On each level, you may encounter ghouls, moving platforms, spikes and springs, and you'll also have to jump between platforms. So why does the game score such a low mark? Well, it's because this is perhaps the most impossibly difficult game I have ever played. Platforms and spikes are positioned so that you have to be pixel-perfect when jumping over or between them. Furthermore, it's very difficult to get into exactly the right position. This is one of those games that will make you want to smash your computer in a rage of frustration, and is best left well alone.

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