The English cricket team are on their way to a Caribbean island to play a cricket match against the island's team. However, although the players don't know it, there is another important reason why the match is being played. The island is rich in a natural resource called guano, and the British government wants to grab some of it. But the problems for the team begin when their 'plane is hijacked, and things only get worse... This is a text adventure in two parts. In the first part, you must find the team's hotel and prepare for the match, while in the second part, you play the match – which is quite a strange experience considering it's all done in the style of a text adventure! The game has been written using GAC, but the parser's limited abilities once again make this a frustrating adventure to play.

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Aliens have invaded a colony within the Terra Federation, and they intend to blow up the anti-matter conversion plant and create a black hole that will destroy the entire planetary system. You have been chosen to confront the aliens and shut down the plant before it reaches critical mass. This shoot-'em-up, which was first released for the CPC on Durell's Big 4 compilation, sees you piloting a spacecraft across five zones, avoiding rocks, mines and aliens. Contact with these will drain your energy, and if you run out of energy, your spacecraft explodes spectacularly into dozens of tiny pieces (an amusing effect that is well worth seeing) and you must find another one. The graphics are sparse and Spectrum-like, but the game itself is challenging and fun to play once you get the hang of manoeuvring the spacecraft.

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As a new recruit to the Chicago police force, you've been assigned the task of clearing the city of gangsters. On each of the eight levels, you must shoot the gangsters while avoiding the civilians, for which points will be deducted. The graphics are pretty simple and so are the sound effects, and it is one of the easiest games I've ever played – I really did complete it on my first go! Still, if you're after a quick blast, you could do worse than this one.

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La Crypte des Maudits
(Lankhor, 1991)

After stealing the magical book of spells in La Secte Noire, the Black Sect has returned to terrorise the population. They are gathering in a nearby crypt, and you have ventured into it, to annihilate this evil sect once and for all. Will you succeed? The crypt is filled with passages blocked by grilles, doors and chests to be opened, and lots of buttons to be pressed and levers to be pulled, and the secret rooms that come with performing these actions. As with nearly all of Lankhor's other games on the CPC, this is a text adventure, and the graphics are beautifully drawn, capturing the sinister atmosphere of the crypt perfectly. The parser is rather limited, but this isn't too much of a problem.

See also: La Secte Noire.

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Bentley the bear is exploring a castle and must collect all the gems from each room in the castle. Among some of the bizarre monsters to be encountered are marbles which home in on Bentley, tree spirits which Bentley can temporarily disable by jumping over them, centipedes which eat gems slowly, and witches. Both the graphics and sound effects are absolutely terrible, and Bentley seems to have his legs stuck together! This was originally released as a limited edition game, but it sold so poorly that it was re-released a few years later – and it's not surprising to see why when you see how it plays. It's a distinctly average game, although it's not really bad.

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The treasures of the Yolkfolk have been stolen from the Temple of Zeffar, and Dizzy has to retrieve them to avoid a curse falling on the kingdom – and so begins Dizzy's last adventure on the CPC. This game is quite different from Dizzy's other adventures. It's divided into four parts, and there are passwords from them so that you don't have to replay parts that you have already completed – a very welcome addition. What is most noticeable, however, is that the graphics are in the high-colour, low-resolution mode instead of the normal four-colour mode that has been used in all of Dizzy's other adventures on the CPC, and I actually like the new graphics. On the other hand, most of the puzzles are easy to solve, and the conversation with other characters is often banal.

See also: Bubble Dizzy, Dizzy, Dizzy Down the Rapids, Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk, Fantasy World Dizzy, Fast Food, Kwik Snax, Magicland Dizzy, Panic Dizzy, Spellbound Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy.

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Noughts and crosses is brought into three dimensions as you play either a friend or the computer to be the first to line up four tiles in a row. Of course, as well as stopping your opponent making lines on one level, you've also got to keep an eye on them making lines that cross all four levels, if you see what I mean. However, this is easier said than done when you're playing the computer – maybe the human brain just isn't capable of visualising the lines in 3D. It's probably better to play with a friend, although the controls are awkward; you have to press fire quickly twice to place a tile, and it often doesn't work.

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In 19th century Spain, the French army is occupying large parts of the country. Now they have amassed enough firepower to destroy the entire country – but one warrior, Curro Jiménez, has the courage to confront and defeat the French single-handedly! You must travel on foot, on horseback, and even on a hot air balloon, through towns and across countryside to reach the French army camp. You are armed with a gun to shoot the French invaders, and along the way, you need to collect treasure chests to obtain dynamite; some chests may give you an extra life instead. The graphics and animation in this game are stunning, and unlike many Spanish games, it's relatively easy to make progress, although jumping over the barriers when you're riding a horse can be frustrating.

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Cursed Be the City is a Gothic-themed text adventure that was created using GAC. You play a character called Ashar, and begin your adventure bound to a rack in a dark and damp dungeon. You must find a way to escape this horrid place of misery and fear before the torturer burns out your eyes! As you can tell, this adventure is very dark in places and is not suitable for young children. Once you escape the dungeon you will eventually learn of your preordained quest. The location descriptions are generally rich with detail and it soon feels like you're reading a book. A lot of the characters in this one do have strange names, though, which makes your quest a bit confusing at times. If you're a fan of horror novels, then this one may appeal to you.

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A portal of evil has fallen on Sherwood, and it's up to Friar Tuck to go to the castle and destroy the portal. The game involves lots of exploring and killing various creatures and humans, whilst working out which weapon to use. There are also some objects to collect, but you'll have to find out what they're used for. Despite the game being in the four-colour, high-resolution mode, the graphics are extremely blocky, and the sound effects are equally awful – yet for some reason, it's still not all that bad a game; it's just that getting through the swamp is extremely hard.

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