Radiation poisoning due to nuclear war has sent Earth's humans on a mission to scour the galaxy in their spaceship for new planets and alien specimens. They have landed on your planet and have taken you and your fellow aliens on board. You must escape from the ship so that they can be rescued – and there is also a bomb on board... The ship is massive and consists of levels of long corridors, with lifts which can be used to move between them. You must also watch out for mutants, droids and Ice Dragons that may freeze you if they touch you, and some mutants, when shot, may make you sick and reverse the controls. This game seems to consist of nothing more than plodding around the corridors looking for the exit, and most people will want to switch off and play something else instead.

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4

The evil Terry Ball has kidnapped I, Ball's friends – Lover Ball, Eddy Ball, Glo Ball and No Ball (cool names!) – and I, Ball sets out to rescue them. This is a vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up, and it's quite tough. In fact it's really tough, but if you keep trying, you will eventually like it. The flying enemies that appear on the screen stay stationary for a while, and you should shoot them before they move! Initially, you can only fire vertically, but collecting the power discs will give you extra firepower. The time limit is tight as well. Don't be put off by the Spectrum port graphics, the mediocre music and the initial difficulty; it's a great game.

See also: I, Ball II: Quest for the Past.

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8

After rescuing his friends, I, Ball decides to find out more about the history of his race by going down into the mines. I don't know why one would find that sort of information in mines, but... The game consists of several of these mines, which occupy a single screen each. You start in one of four mines chosen at random and must collect the key in each mine and reach the exit, while avoiding the floating enemies. Unfortunately, this game is even more difficult than its predecessor, with far too many enemies on the screen at once. The graphics and sound remain poor, and the digitised speech is unrecognisable and gimmicky.

See also: I, Ball.

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5

Take to the bobsleigh and whizz your way through the twists and turns of each course before your time runs out. This is no ordinary bobsleigh run, though, because it's filled with hazards such as spikes, mines and ramps, and other bobsleighs are competing, too. However, your bobsleigh is armed with a gun (I told you this was out of the ordinary!), although you'll need to keep both your fuel and ammunition topped up by shooting the right icons. The concept actually works rather well, and the graphics are pretty good, as is the tune at the start of the game. It'll take a lot of practice to finish the first course, though.

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7

Another 'jet-pack' game, at which I completely suck at. In this one, you control space ace Nick Razor as you traverse the 900 (yes, 900!) screens of the Ice Temple, to track down the eight pieces of the nuclear reactor which is sapping the Earth's energy and using it to fuel alien warships. The music and sound are decent (though the locations can be very empty and similiar-looking at times), but wow, talk about difficult! 900 screens, reactor pieces located randomly in each game, ever-decreasing jet-pack fuel, four measly lives and enemies that home in on you quickly and mercilessly! If you can take your time and map out this immense game, there's a lengthy quest to be had, but I found it hard to make any progress due to its difficulty. A shame.

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5

Ikari Warriors
(Elite, 1986)
Reviewed by Chris Lennard

Rescue your commander from enemy forces deep in the jungle in this fast paced vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up. The action is relentless and it's highly recommended that you take up the two player option, as you are never given a moment's rest from the masses of enemy troops that come from all sides. Placed to assist you as you travel over land and sea are a selection of armoured vehicles that you can commandeer to great effect. This is visually a very cute looking game, despite what the game entails, whereas the explosions and gun effects are pleasantly satisfying.

See also: Victory Road.

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8

Whereas the original featured only two karate fighters, there are now three. Again, it's a case of fighting each other, and the person with the most coloured dots at the end of the round wins. Your instructor also makes comments to each fighter. Every two rounds, there is a bonus round where you have to deflect coloured balls with a shield. The graphics are OK and the shimmering effect of the sun on the lake is nice, but the music is irritating, and the game just lacks variety.

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5

L'Ile
(Ubi Soft, 1988)

In 1932, a man by the name of Major Forten set sail to find an uncharted island off the coast of Angola, to the west of Africa – but he never returned. Now Dr. Freland has sent you on an expedition to find the island. Let's hope you do not suffer the same fate as Major Forten! This is a text adventure with some lovely, atmospheric graphics and sound effects. It was developed by Alain Massoumipour, the editor of the French magazine Amstrad Cent Pour Cent, and it inspired many French CPC users to write their own adventures. It's well presented with very good graphics (as well as some sampled speech on the title screen that I could barely make out), and there are few problems with the parser. It's perhaps not the most challenging of adventures, but it's certainly enjoyable to play – although unsurprisingly, you will need to understand French.

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8

A nonogram (also better known as Picross) is a puzzle where you have to fill in a grid of cells, based on a set of numbers listed beside each grid, which represent the number of filled squares in that row or column. Each grid consists of 16 rows and 16 columns, and each puzzle must be completed within a set time limit. Incorrectly marking any square as filled results in a severe time penalty, so it is advisable not to guess! There is also a password system to allow you to skip puzzles that you have already completed. The presentation is excellent and it's a great way to exercise your brain.

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8

Imaginario Colectivo is another new game for our machine published in 2012. The game begins with a cartoonish and colourful introduction and a mysterious tune. The game itself is an arcade adventure, so expect a lot of action. The graphics are great with detailed scenery and well designed sprites. The animation is really good and smooth, while the soundtrack is atmospheric and pleasant. There are some sound effects as well. The gameplay is fast-paced with many traps and enemies to avoid, while you need to collect objects. The in-game screens further assist the atmosphere of this great game. The scenery changes as you progress and the difficulty level is reasonable. Overall, a great game to play that will give you a lot of enjoyment!

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