Americana
£2.99

This is a classic case of one piece of dodgy programming spoiling what could have been a nice little budget game. But before you get down to the micro, set aside a weekend or two to try and understand the instructions. They too are a classic... of the blurb writer's fevered imagination!

If I've got this right, it all concerns the Ozbosians' moon, Orephul (how about that for an Orephul pun?) which is full of Nebunucleus. Now as you all know, a Nebunuclei is a Qigit and... and enough of this nonsense!

You control a Miracloid Droid who has to rush around a maze dodging twenty kinds of nasty and collecting ten Qigits that must be neutralised. There are also some physical traps to avoid and a few other useful objects to locate, including a thruster pack and a smart bomb. The problem isn't so much finding the Qigits as their relevant Nuclear Stabilisers, and though the game comes with a map, it doesn't seem to be particularly accurate.

Nothing too original I admit, though there are some great touches like the lifts which move platforms into place to make difficult leaps. The graphics are very attractive and the introductory music is great, though I've still not deciphered the speech. The number of keys is a bit of a handful, but eventually you got the hang of them.

All this would be fine if it wasn't for that classic mistake.. aliens keep appearing in the same place as you are. There you are, dead without a chance to shoot 'em up. It makes getting anywhere almost impossible which is a pity because I wouldn't actually mind investigating these mines, if only I could stay alive long enough. As it is I can't advise buying it unless you're into frustration.

BUDGET GAMES ARE GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME, AND US GOLD ARE JOINING IN WITH THEIR LATEST GAME.

US Gold/Americana
£2.99

US Gold's budget label didn't get off to a wonderful start, but now, with Tremor, it looks as if they might be able to start competing with Mastertronic in the budget goodies market.

Tremor is set beneath the surface of Orephul, the moon of the planet Ozbos. The Ozbosians have been carrying out mining operations on Orephul for many years, protecting themselves from the moon's radioactive atmosphere with the aid of ten 'qigits' placed at various points beneath the surface. But recently a passing meteor has caused seismic tremors which separated he qigits from their nuclear stabilisers, and it's up to you to trace the qigits and return them to their respective stabilisers.

In order to complete this task you have been given control of the new, improved, Miracloid 'Droid. Armed with a high-power Mattasplatta and Ultraboosta, which allows you to leap over obstacles, you enter the underground caverns and begin the search. The mining complex consists of 400 caves, populated by the deadly organisms which have been mutated by the high radiation level. Other items to be found in the caves include a Thrustapac, which enhances your leaping abilities, batteries which recharge the 'Droid's energy (to give additional lives), moving platforms and 'tellyport' stations which can transport you to other areas in the mine.

The game's instructions come with a useful map which gives you some idea of the locations of objects. This helps you to get started and allows you to play the game without the chore of having to make your own map but the map provided doesn't give away all the game's secrets so you've still got the challenge of finding the objects and delivering them to the right spots.

Finding your way around the mine isn't as easy as it might sound because your leaping abilities are quite limited until you find the Thrustapac, and this means that you've got to do a lot of exploring, and take a few risks in order to find the things you need before you can complete the search.

The graphics and animation are better than you might expect in a budget game, and compare well with the standard of a lot of full price games. The combination of the search for the qigits, combined with the game's shoot 'em up element make Tremor enjoyable and addictive, and the size of the mine complex should keep you busy for a long time.

Tremor is very similar to games such as Starquake and Nodes of Yesod, but costs less than half the price, so it's obviously good value, and only one or two minor points stop the game from going all the way to Monster Hit status. The monsters in the caves are instantly deadly, and as there are so many of them it's hard to get very far without getting killed all the time. This might not have been much of a problem if it weren't for the fact that the monsters will sometimes appear in the cave right next to your 'Droid, so that there simply isn't any chance to zap them before they get you. I think it would have been better if the monsters only drained some of the 'Droid's energy levels on collision. This would allow you to survive a few collisions before losing a life, and also give you a little more time to react when one appears right on top of you.

Even so, Tremor is still a good game and, before the recent upsurge in the quality of some budget games, might well have been released at a higher price. For just £2.99 it's very good value and is probably one of the better budget titles currently available.