The Cosmic Key has fallen through a time gate and emerged on Earth. He-Man must find the eight chords that make up the key before his arch-enemy Skeletor gets his hands on them. The main section of game involves wandering around a city looking for the chords; you will need to make a map, or you'll become lost. It also doesn't help that the orientation of north on the screen changes when you turn at a junction. Occasionally, you will be called to specific locations in the city to play one of a few very easy sub-games. The graphics and music are satisfactory, but wandering around the city is very dull, and the sub-games don't liven things up that much.

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Mata Hari's lover is locked in the upper floor of an embassy. Fortunately, she's got what it takes to face all the armed guards, security doors and traps that await inside. Despite being an adventure, the gameplay is relatively simple. There are only a few actions (blow open doors, kill guards, get security codes, etc.) to be performed several times. Despite that, the game is far from boring, and the adjusted level of difficulty makes Mata Hari fun to play and not too difficult to finish. By the way, the ending sequence is not bad.

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Play football against the computer or with a friend in this now very dated game, playing either a single game or the Match Day tournament with seven other teams. This may have been a relatively good game back in its day, but it just doesn't compare well with other football games nowadays. The players move very slowly, and so does the ball, and actually getting hold of the ball is frustratingly difficult. One of the worst problems is that the computer never seems to let you control the player nearest to the ball, and instead selects another player who is further away, giving computer-controlled teams an advantage. The graphics are good, with colourful and well animated players, and the music is lovely as well, but it's best to avoid this game.

See also: Matchday II.

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Matchday II
(Ocean, 1988)

The sequel to Match Day is an improvement, but it's still flawed. The game is now much more customisable; you can choose tactics for your team, the computer's skill level, and the way your players kick the ball. This last option is related to the introduction of a 'kickometer' which lets you judge how hard you want to kick the ball. There is also both a knockout and a league tournament to compete in, and as well as the traditional one- and two-player games, two players can play in the same team, against the computer. Colour has been sacrificed for more detailed graphics, which I like, and the sound of the crowd cheering and playing tunes is a nice touch. However, it's still slow, and many of the problems associated with Match Day are still present.

See also: Match Day.

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5

Since tennis games are rare on the CPC, this one (known as Balle de Match in France) is relatively good. Unfortunately, you can't elaborate a real strategy because you haven't got the choice in your strikes. All you can do is try to hit the ball, which is often difficult. The more you win matches, the faster your opponents play, and the computer quickly becomes unbeatable. Anyway, it is rather fun to play once you've managed to handle your player.

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5

Maze Mania
(Hewson, 1989)

Flippo has to change all of the tiles in each maze to another colour, but there are lots of monsters to avoid! It's a fun little game with some nice graphics (for the scenery, that is), and reasonable sound effects. There are also lots of power-ups to collect, as well as a chance to get some bonuses at the end of each maze. Unfortunately, Flippo sometimes won't paint a tile properly, so you have to go back and try again, which can be a bit annoying, but it's still a lovely game.

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This Breakout clone was actually written by the same guy who wrote Masters of Space and Star Driver for the Radical software house several years later. It is different from other games like it; there are 36 levels arranged in a 9×4 grid, and at the start of each game, you can choose which direction you want to go along the grid. The other big difference is the amazing plethora of special bricks; you really won't believe your eyes! The game is an absolute feast of colour, and playing it is just wonderful, with explosions, flashes and whizzy noises assaulting your senses - great stuff!

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Out there in the universe are millions of objects - planets, stars and comets - which have yet to be explored and which may contain strange worlds. But your orders aren't to see what these worlds are like. No, your orders are to blow every world you encounter to smithereens! Such a waste... This Asteroids clone is anything but mega. It's an ugly Spectrum port with flickery graphics, and it's dull to play. Your spaceship is tricky to control, and the game alternates without warning between two control methods, one of which makes the game even more difficult than it already is. I don't like the music either. The moving field of stars in the background is a nice effect, though.

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4

The magic twins have been captured by the evil sorcerer Cobron, and Bart and Bob set out to rescue them (it's their fault that they were captured, anyway). Their journey takes them through many mysterious worlds, each with five levels and an end-of-level guardian, although you may be able to find some secret levels... This is actually an absolutely brilliant Bomberman clone, and it takes up two whole discs; it's a big game! As well as being great fun to play, the graphics and music are both wonderful, and there's a battle version where up to four players can take each other on, in traditional Bomberman style. There's also a password system so that you don't have to play the worlds you've already completed. This is a beautiful game, and everyone should play it!

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Professor Maxibillion III has passed away, and his American nephew, Rock Carrington, is set to inherit $1 billion - but he won't see a penny of it unless he solves a lot of puzzles and finds all the pieces of the professor's will. This graphic adventure starts with Rock standing outside the professor's mansion. There are many objects to be found, and a system of windows and icons is used to pick them up, drop them and use them. Although the graphics and sound effects are nothing special, the adventure is very easy to get into once you've deactivated the mansion's alarm system; fortunately, the Professor has left a notebook containing lots of subtle clues. It's not the most taxing of adventures, but it is a lot of fun to play.

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