Producer: Firebird
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £9.95
Language: Machine code
Author: Philip Mochan, Ricardo Pinto, Dominic Prior, Mark Wighton

Gyron is described by Firebird as, 'the most challenging computer game ever written', and it has taken its four young programmers a year to write. It comes under Firebird's 'Gold Range', and its fairly high price reflects both the work that has gone into its creation and its complexity as game and program. Typically, it is also quite hard to describe easily!

In brief Gyron can be described as a four dimensional maze game. The large maze is seen by the player three dimensionally, using excellent wire frame line graphics. In addition to the maze walls there are offensive towers which fire at your hedron and vast spherical balls which roll about the maze and give it its fourth dimension, for these balls are effectively moving walls of the maze. That's putting it very simply!

The object of Gyron is to penetrate the defences of an enemy computer complex and thus to reach and destroy it. The computer architects that constructed the system were faced with the task of designing a defence system which though providing formidable resistance to a saboteur, would still allow access for purposes of reprogramming and repair, to authorised personnel. Faced with the problem of eliminating the computer scientists developed a project, whereby a 'Hedroid' (you) is dropped into the gate that opens periodically in the energy field above the maze. The Hedroid is a remote control robot (a revolving icosahedron for the technically-minded) which sends information back to its controller (the player of course). It is armed with a laser.

Once inside the maze the hedroid is faced with two interlocking defence systems, towers and balls. The balls are immune to the hedroid laser and kill on contact. The maze is divided into zones (indicated by the colour of the hedroid symbol on screen), and each zone has a cycle time which effectively controls the movement of the balls. Solutions to individual configuration problems are only available at certain times during cycles, and to the overall system (game) only four solutions are believed to exist; those used by the designers themselves. The towers are designed to restrict movement within the maze. They 'point' and fire in one of the four compass directions. However they can be affected by the Hedroid laser. If a tower is hit in the back it may retract, although some reappear instantly, and others may be linked so that as one tower retracts another appears elsewhere. Fire from the towers kills, and only may be avoided by passing under it hard by a wall, or by using a ball as cover.

The screen display consists of a large square view of the maze seen from ground level in full 3D. Balls and towers are seen as a solid blue. A green square at the base indicates sideways movement, and two green squares on either side indicate your position relative to the side passages which are shown by red bars. Once the side green squares are within a red bar it is possible to turn by moving in the direction until you meet the side 'wall', whereupon the picture cuts to face along the new passage. To the right of the viewscreen are four panels. At the top is a radar scan of the immediate area which shows towers and their firing direction and the moving balls. 'You' are always at the centre. This radar scrolls continuously as you move in the maze. Below it is a waveform damage indicator (bumping into walls causes damage). Below that is a time linked to the central computer. Finally there is a panel with a revolving hedroid which is colour coded to indicate the maze zone occupied by the hedroid.

Gyron is a hard arcade maze game, but it is as a thinking game that it really scores. To complete it there are only four possible solutions, and Firebird are so convinced that very few will ever do so, that they are offering a Porsche 924 motor car to the first person to solve it before October 21st 1985. An eliminating competition will be held should more than one correct solution appear.

Other interesting statistics include: a game cycle that only repeats after 100,000 years, hidden view 3D graphics, three colours per character square, and two games on one tape - the Atrium is an easier practice version of the main game. The program size means that there is only limited sound available, but fortunately Gyron is accompanied by the kind of detailed playing instructions that some other software houses would do well to look at.

COMMENTS

Control keys: cursor keys and zero to fire, but a user definable option is provided in a pre-loader
Joystick: all major options, accessed through pre-loader, you can't get back to the menu to change your mind though, due to the program size
Keyboard play: highly responsive, takes getting used to 'momentum' effect
Use of colour: simple use of colour in viewscreen, but effective, overall very good
Graphics: excellent 3D with perfect perspective feel and very smooth continuous animation in all details
Sound: none
Skill levels: two games - hard and Porsche-worthy!
Lives: 1
Screens: continuous scrolling

Now let's get one thing straight - you are not going to defeat this game within five minutes of loading it. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if no one defeated Gyron for a long, long time, otherwise why would Firebird be offering a Porsche as a prize? The graphics are breathtaking especially the 3D of the maze and towers. I particularly like the revolving icosahedron. The sound isn't up to much, but the brilliance of the game makes up for that. The only thing that's a bit off-putting about the game, apart from the loads of instructions, is that it's so hard to play, but once you grasp the idea of what to do and how to control yourself, it's just a matter of practice. You will need a lot of time and patience to get anywhere with it.

Could any game be worth the price of a Porsche? My goodness, what an incentive to complete this game! You may think 'no problem' because you've completed so many maze games before. But this one is different, this one is unreal, this one is a nightmare! Four eyes, a logic-thinking nature and a desperate energy for speed and excitement are just a few of the factors needed to play this game. Never has there been a 3D planned maze like this before of such complexity; and it's not just a question of finding your way around the maze either as you have to avoid the rolling balls and deadly towers that zap without warning. Your objective is to reach and destroy the central computer which controls all ball and tower movement - and it has to be done against the clock as well. Gyron is really very difficult to play but very enjoyable but once you grasp the principal ideas. Graphics are truly wonderful, the 3D perspective seems to me to be reality and the balls that move through the maze work with uncanny realism. A brilliant piece of programming that has been very highly polished and perfected. This is probably the type of game you will find in the arcades - yes, it is of that standard. Hyperbrill!

A stunning atmosphere is produced from the loading screen onwards - as loading completes, the drawn head comes to life winks and spits out the hedroid that is 'you', then fades away to leave 'you' quietly revolving, waiting the commencement of the game. A marvellous opening to this graphically amazing game. The detailed graphics continue throughout, from the solid-feeling 3D maze (surely the most convincing 3D maze yet produced) to the animation of the rolling balls. The screen layout is exceptionally clean-looking and the side panels are all beautifully animated. The game itself is very tough, even dispiriting at first as you die within seconds (shot through the back usually), but then you realise the importance of the radar and the tower positions shown on it. Timing is important, as the balls only allow you to move from sector to sector at specified times - too late and it really is too late! But as an easy practice round, there is the Atrium version on side two which is much easier. Gyron is a remarkable game, as much puzzle as arcade and definitely with a dash of strategy. It should keep a player occupied for hours, days, months probably (maybe years for me!) - and I always wanted a Porsche too. Never mind.

Roger: Any lump of software that gets nominated as a legend in its own lunchtime, is in serious danger of a generally rocky ride. Well, Gyron cannot escape completely. The ten battalions of mathematical geniuses who took about seven trillion light years to carve the game out of living machine code have created some stunning visual effects but they haven't come up with the game content.

Gyron is best described as a 3D maze of considerable complexity. The quality of the graphics is certainly exceptional as you trundle through the corridors of alien power pursued by giant spheres. But this is no variety act. It could take another trillion years to suss out the maze exits and the scenery will still stay the same. A small hint that some smart marketing kiddie has sussed the problem comes with Gyron's attachment to a spiffing competition - the winner gets a Porsche 924 just like the ones we had on YS before we got our Rollers. Pass me the joystick and, er, wish me luck! 2.5/5 MISS

Ross: This is impressive - until you start playing. Then it's just a question of slowly trundling round a 3D maze trying to justify forking out a tenner on this tedium. 2/5 MISS

Dave: Firebird says that the changing elements of the maze repeat every 100,000 years - that means they'll be coming round again just about the time I next load the game up. 1/5 HIT

Publisher: Firebird
Price: £9.95
Memory: 48K
Joystick: Kempston

Gyron, a game in which brains and logic count, stands in a class of its own.

Maze games are usually easily described - but not this one. Firebird's Gyron is a complex game comprised of two labyrinths, one nestling in the other. Atrium is the easier game and within it is Necropolis with the wisdom of the Sorceror hidden at its centre. The idea is to reach the founts of wisdom before the sorceror can rise form the dead to claim his knowledge.

Massive balls roll in predetermined, circuitous paths through the trenches of the labyrinths. Contact with those means instant death. Rising above the walls are monolithic towers guarding the paths to Necropolis and wisdom. Each tower faces one of the four points of the compass, blocking certain routes, and each is ready to strike if you come within range.

The orientation of the towers is possibly the most important aspect of Gyron. Shooting the towers affects your route as each directly affects the positioning of other towers in surrounding areas. A tower may vanish when hit, sometimes only to reappear instantly later on.

The screen is viewed through the cockpit of your hedroid craft in full 3D glory. Two green lateral indicators to either side of the screen act as laser canons. As you have only a forward view of the screen, red bands descend to indicate side entrances.

A green square at the bottom of the screen indicates your position in the trench. Colliding into walls will dam- age the hedroid and an indicator in the control panel shows how much damage you have sustained.

A radar shows each section you are negotiating from a bird's eye view. You are always at the centre. That is an invaluable indication of where the towers are situated, the direction they are facing and also the numbers of balls rolling in that section. Another way to verify your direction is to look at the four constellations in the night sky above the labyrinth.

A timer is linked to the central computer and is synchronised to the motion of the balls. Below that is a revolving icosahedron which changes to one of 12 colours related to each section of the maze.

The graphics are wireframe with the balls and towers in solid blue. The balls are masked if they are rolling behind a wall. Movement is fast and smooth, and a pat on the back must go to the four programmers who took over a year to produce the game.

Firebird has produced a brilliant game combining strategy and arcade skills. A Porsche 924 motor car is on offer to the first person to discover the secrets of Necropolis.

If that isn't an incentive to buy this game, I don't know what is.

MACHINE: Spectrum
SUPPLIER: Firebird
PRICE: £9.95

Now here's a really DIFFERENT game! You may not think that a 3D maze game could different - but Gyron, the latest full price game from Firebird, most definitely is.

The idea of the game is to penetrate the defences of a vast maze-like structure created by a sorceror scientist to protect his knowledge. The maze is confusing enough on its own - but the sorcerer also decided to make it deadly by constructing laser towers to zap any intruders.

Faced with this formidable task, the sorceror's enemies gathered to discuss just how they could break into the system. The result was a Hedroid - a remote controlled probe robot armed with a high-intensity optical laser.

And this is where you come in! Take control of the Hedroid, guide it through the deadly maze and discover the sorceror's secrets - which is not as easy as it sounds.

The Hedroid can be damaged by collisions with the walls - and can be totally wiped out by the giant Prisoner-type "rovers" which trundle through the maze.

The laser towers are multi-directional - and totally featureless when viewed from the outside. Fortunately, your Hedroid is armed with radar and it can check out which way the tower is likely to be pointing its deadly weapon. You can either destroy the tower or make it turn by zapping it with the Hedroid's laser.

The screen display shows a main view of the maze - plus an image of the Hedroid itself which changes colour as you progress through the various zones of the maze, a "viability" or energy indicator plus a radar screen illustrating your surroundings.

Colour bars of red and green which appear at the sides of the main display are used to indicate side passages - your Hedroid can only see in the direction it is facing.

You can control the Hedroid using a joystick or keyboard - user definable keys are a feature of game too!

Gyron is an immensely challenging game and - just to make it more interesting - Firebird are offering a Porsche 924 or cash equivalent as a prize for the first person who cracks the Necropolis maze version of the game first.

You notice I said Necropolis version. On the B-side of the tape there will be an easier version of the game called the Atrium. This is great for practising - or for those of you who like a faster game. But no prizes for solving it!

Oh yes - there is a time limit built into the hard version. Expert opinion says that if you've spent around 20 minutes trying you might as well start another game!

Graphics - as you can see from our shots - are vector line style. But don't let the simplicity fool you. The programmers, two mathematicians and two computer boffins, have developed a neat way of moving things behind other things on screen - if you follow me! Just watch the giant robot rovers and you'll see what I mean.

Once you've got the hang of driving the Hedroid around the maze - and it does take a bit of getting used to - you'll be hooked. Don't fail to have a look at Firebird's best full price game yet.

Spectrum 48K
Firebird
Maze
£9.95

At first you might look on this game as a maze game crossed with a shoot-'em-up, with some nice graphics. But this would be to dismiss a game which gradually grows on you. It is more reminiscent of Rubik's Cube than a run of the mill maze game.

The first thing that strikes you is the graphics. You pilot a ball, or Hedron, around a maze. The maze scrolls smoothly past you as you move down the three dimensional trenches. Control is achieved with cursor keys or joystick. Moving the joystick to one side or the other will move the Hedron across the trench, and, if opposite the opening of a side trench, the Gyron will turn the corner.

There are a number of spheres rolling around the place according to predetermined patterns. These, needless to say are deadly. Then there are the towers, these are a different kettle of fish all together. These are orientated in a particular direction, which you get from a small radar map of the neighbourhood. If you roll in front of these, you get shot.

ARCADE

Clare Edgeley blasts her way through a wealth of challenging software.

Get fit quick just about sums up the last 12 months. 1985 has seen enough sports games to put you off doing anything more strenuous than lifting a pint glass, at least for the next year.

Since the 1984 Olympics, we have competed in every imaginable sport: played footie with Bobby Charlton, run rings round Daley Thompson and been KO'd by big Frank... There is hardly an action sport left which has not been turned into a money spinner, with a Sportsman's name attached. What is wrong with Tessa Sanderson's Javelin anyway?

Daley Thompson's Decathlon was first to the tape back in November '84 and notched up a gold for Ocean when it jumped to number one in the charts for a few weeks. You have to compete in all ten events of the decathlon, taking part in the high jump, long jump and pole vault as well as track events. The 400m is the most gruelling and to keep up speed you must pump the joystick back and forth, which may result in a touch of cramp. The graphics are colourful and the game does give a taste of the real thing.

Melbourne House also attempted a compilation of events with Sports Hero, although it was nowhere near as successful as Daley Thompson. Sports Hero has you competing in four events - 100m sprint, long jump, 110m hurdles and the pole vault, over three difficulty levels. To gain speed you must pummel the run button and press the jump button before takeoff. Aching fingers seem to be the norm in that type of game and in many cases you will end up with a sick keyboard as well. There is no sound and the graphics are not fantastic, although the scrolling background is interesting. A few more events should have been possible.

More recently, Brian Jacks' Superstar Challenge from Martech reached the top ten, although it came a poor second to Imagine's Hypersports. Both contain a weird hotch-potch of events - some interesting, others boring. Brian Jacks gives you a pretty raw deal. For £7.95 you can immerse yourself in such exciting events as squat thrusts and arm dips. Those may be thrilling to watch on TV but on computer they are about as much fun as a wet blanket.

Hypersports is a different ball game altogether. Licensed from the arcade game of the same name, the computer version is very like the original, although some events lack imagination. When swimming - or floundering, if you forget to breathe - instead of tearing down to the end of the pool, the end moves towards you. Clay pigeon shooting is certainly one of the better events, in which you must shoot the skeets through automatically moving sights. The vault is tricky and rather than vaulting as far as possible from the horse, you are likely to end up on your head beside it. The graphics are generally thought to be more professional than Daley Thompson's Decathlon, though whether the game is better is a moot point.

Jonah Barrington's Squash from New Generation is an interesting concept which seems to have fallen flat. Knock a miniscule black ball round the 3D court and try to beat Jonah at his own game. Jonah is one of Britain's leading squash players. Much was made of the fact that a taped recording of Jonah's voice calls out the scores. Unfortunately, all you get is an unintelligible gabble and it is easier to read them on the score board anyway.

We awarded imagine's World Series Baseball three stars in the June issue, which just goes to show that our forecasts are not always spot on. In June, July and August it remained at number three in the charts, only dropping to eleventh place in September.

The game opens with a traditional rendering of the tAmerican National Anthem. Then play starts, with one team pitching and the other batting. You can play with a friend or against the computer, adjusting the speed and direction of the ball when pitching and the strength and lift of your swing when batting. Loving attention has been paid to detail with a large scoreboard displaying genuine adverts between innings.

Last, but not least, boxing - the sport for ugly mugs. Cauliflower ears and battered brains are only half the fun - just think what you can do to your opponent. A few months ago three games were released simultaneously on the back of Punch Out!!, a highly successful arcade game.

Elite's Frank Bruno's Boxing knocks Rocco and Knockout for six, and is easily the most playable and realistic, offering more possible moves and a greater number of competitors than either of the other games. It is also the only boxing game featuring a sporting personality - Bruno helped in an advisory capacity during production which explains the close attention to detail.

Gremlin Graphic's Rocco squares up well in the ring, though you will find it is not as easy to dodge your opponent as it is in Frank Bruno, and there are only three competitors. The scoring system is simple and the graphics are the clearest of the three games. It is worth playing and annihilates Alligata's Knockout in the ring.

Knockout is appalling and lacks any addictive qualities. It is the only game which uses colour - the others being mono - although that could have been sacrificed for extra playability. Other than left and right punches to the body and head, there is no facility for ducking and dodging, but at least you can amble away if the going gets too rough. You tend to spend a great deal of time seeing stars after being KO'd. At least it lives up to its name.

The legendary success of Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy lives on. Platform and ladders games are still the rage and dozens of versions have landed in the Sinclair User offices over the last 12 months. Two years ago Manic Miner was a sure recipe for success, and because it was ahead of its time a lot of money was made. Programming techniques are now more sophisticated and with games like Alien 8 and Spy vs Spy around, who needs a Manic Miner spin-off?

However, they are here to stay and some at least are worth the money you pay for them. One of the more successful games is Strangeloop, released late in '84, which has gone a long way to repairing the damage done to Virgin by Sheepwalk - one of its earliest and most awful games.

A half-crazy computer is the source of all your troubles in Strangeloop and, playing the part of a metagalactic repairman, you must shut it down. There are over 240 rooms filled with lethal swarf which attacks and damages your space suit. A jetbike waits somewhere and will make your task easier but you have to locate and refuel it first. Objects picked up will help with various tasks and friendly robots will patch your torn suit. The graphics are colourful and simple. and there is even a facility for saving your position on tape, to be resumed later when you have recharged your batteries.

Jet Set Willy II is the biggest rip-off of them all as Software Projects has done little other than add about 70 extra screens to the original. Essentially it is the same as Jet Set Willy which was launched back in 1984. The plot is similar; clear up the house before going to bed and avoid the hundreds of lethal thingummies found in each room. Despite being little more than a re-release, Jet Set Willy II is currently doing very well in the charts.

Despite the lack of original thought, if you are still hooked on the challenge of platform and ladders, try The Edge's Brian Bloodaxe. A loopy game if ever there was one. Brian, a viking soldier has been trapped in a block of ice for centuries, and as it thaws, he leaps out shivering, but ready to conquer the British. Flapping 100 seats, deadly ducks and mad Scotsmen are a few of the dangers that lurk on each level. Objects to collect and chasms to be leapt add to his daunting task. Brian Bloodaxe is at least as good as Jet Set Willy, with much visual humour and bright, clear graphics.

Hewson, which has made a name for itself in recent months with arcade adventures such as Dragontorc and simulations like Heathrow ATC, must have had a brain storm late last year with Technician Ted, which is totally unlike the semi-serious games released since. Guide Ted around a silicon chip factory while looking for a plate of the real things. Pick up knives, forks and other necessary implements and avoid several nasty traps. Easy to play and reasonably addictive, Technician Ted is not one of Hewson's best games but has done quite well in the platform and ladders stakes.

Artic's Mutant Monty is more sophisticated than Technician Ted and includes some extremely tricky screens requiring split second timing - if you are slightly out, a lemon or some other incongruous object will squash you flat, and then where will the beautiful maiden be? it is a constant source of amusement that so much work goes into preparing intricate story lines bearing absolutely no resemblance to the game you are playing.

On the whole rip-offs are uniformly mediocre in standard and not the sort of game you would buy for lasting playability. Real fanatics will find Activision's Toy Bizarre and Micromega's Jasper a doddle, and probably have more fun playing blindfold with their hands tied behind their backs. Both games are average and employ run-of-the-mill graphics. In Toy Bizarre, the player leaps round the levels of a toy factory popping balloons while being chased by a gang of irate toys.

Meanwhile, in Jasper much the same thing is going on, only this time you are a furry rat collecting money bags and treasure chests while avoiding furry cats, rabbits and other hairy animals. Platform games are usually fast moving and it is generally easier to keep up with the pace using a joystick. Unless you have very strong fingers, Jasper is doomed as your only option is to use the Spectrum's sticky keyboard.

Arcade adventures have come into their own in recent months, some remaining for weeks at a time in the top ten. With the advent of games like Gyron, fewer people are willing to put up with games like Jet Pac - classics two years ago but now gathering dust in cupboards across the country.

Superior graphics is the name of the game and the Spectrum is being stretched to its limits in a constant effort to improve software. Some games combine excellent graphics with originality, though equally large numbers have been launched on the back of the successful few. Ultimate's Knight Lore, Underwurlde and Alien 8 are three successful examples and Nightshade is expected to do as well.

Underwurlde is rather like a vertical Atic Atac featuring the Sabre-man who must escape a series of chambers while avoiding hosts of nasties. The pace is fast, the screens colourful - a devious game.

Knight Lore and Alien 8 could, at first glance, be mistaken for the same game. Featuring superb 3D grahpics, Knight Lore's hero must search a maze of rooms and find the ingredients of a spell to lift a curse placed upon him. Each room presents a challenge and one wrong move spells instant death. The scenario in Alien 8 is different from its predecessor and the quality of graphics is even higher.

Wizard's Lair from Bubble Bus is an Atic Atac lookalike with shades of Sabre Wulf and is an excellent game, even if you have seen the same sort of thing before. Bubble Bus has made some attempt to change the scenario which covers three levels, accessed via a magic wardrobe lift.

The programmers of Firebird's Cylu were influenced by Alien 8. Cylu is in the Silver range and at £2.50 represents very good value - it is almost as frustrating as the original but the graphics are a little patchy. Ultimate should be proud that so many companies want to copy their games, though it's a crying shame that those same software houses cannot put their combined programming expertise to good use, and produce something original of their own.

Games featuring film scenarios and famous names are often the subject of massive advertising campaigns, and Domark's A View to a Kill was no exception. Played in three parts you must guide the intrepid 007 through the streets of Paris, San Francisco and into Silicon Valley to stop the evil Max Zorin from tipping chip valley into the drink. The game received mixed reviews but, at the time of writing, it had just made it into the top ten - probably due to the James Bond name. It is an exciting game but lacks much visual detail.

The Rocky Horror Show from CRL is already sliding down the charts and does not live up to its namesakes, the film and play. Rescue Janet or Brad from the Medusa machine by finding 15 component parts of the de-Medusa machine. It sounds riveting. Your task seems enormous as you can carry only one part of the machine at a time and if you expect to meet normal sane characters in the castle, forget it. More could have been made of the graphics and the action is slow in places, but it is worth playing if only to meet Magenta who will strip you of your clothes. Wow!

Beyond's Spy vs Spy is unique and features simultaneous play between two players on a split screen. Take part in the zany humour of MAD magazine's two famous characters, the black spy and the white spy, each trying to stop the other finding secret documents in a foreign embassy. Set whacky traps as you ransack each room before escaping to the airport. It is fun, highly addictive and very amusing. Buying the licence to films, books and names is an expensive business, and at last one company has made the most of it with an excellent game.

It is interesting to note that when one unusual game is launched others of a similar nature swiftly follow. Perhaps all programmers follow the same thought waves. Last summer we had an unusual trio of games, reviewed in May, June and August issues. Two are based on the human body - not the most obvious subject for a game.

Quicksilva's Fantastic Voyage is a thrilling game based on the sixties film of the same name, in which Raquel Welch is injected into the body of a brain damaged scientist. Unfortunately, your mini-sub breaks up and you have only one hour to locate all the missing parts. Searching is a novel experience as you rush from atrium to stomach to lung and heart in a never ending circle. Finding your way to the brain is difficult as it is not signposted and the turning is easy to miss. Dine on red blood cells to keep up your energy and clear any infections which frequently break out - normally in the most inaccessible parts of the scientist's anatomy. A great way to learn about your bits, and where they are situated.

Icon's Frankenstien 2000 bears little resemblance to Fantastic Voyage, though it is played in a monster's body. Whoever heard of monsters smoking fags? This one obviously did and that is probably why it's dead. On reaching the lungs, battle with cigarette packets, avoid hopping frogs in the trachea, and fire at any oxygen molecules it is your misfortune to encounter. The graphics are uninspired and the game is simple.

Genesis' Bodyworks was reviewed in June and it is difficult to know what to make of it. It is hardly an arcade game - more of an illustrated, educational tour of the workings of a human body, describing the nervous, circulatory and respiratory systems.

Space Invaders was one of the first great games on the Spectrum and software houses have never tired of the theme. Space games crop up in all categories; simulations, adventures and arcade adventures. Activision has even brought out Ballblazer, a sports game played in space. Way out!

Moon Cresta from Incentive is a traditional game in which you shoot everything in sight, and then dock with another space ship before taking off to do exactly the same on the next level. With complex games like Starion around one would think that games of this calibre would flop. But no, there must be some people around whose brains are in their trigger fingers. Surprisingly, Moon Cresta is creeping up the charts. Long live the aliens.

Melbourne House's Starion takes space travel seriously and combines a number of features, including the traditional shoot 'em up, word puzzles and anagrams. Kill off enemy space ships and collect the letters they drop, then unscramble those to form a word. Fly down to earth and answer a puzzle to change the course of Earth's history. There are 243 events to rewrite - and that amounts to a lot of flying time. Starion is well up in the top ten.

System 3 has come up with the goods against all opposition with the dreadful Death Star Interceptor, which has proved surprisingly popular. If you are really into boring games, this is right up your alley. Played in three sections, first take off into outer space, next avoid assorted aliens and then, as in Star Wars, plant a bomb in the exhaust port of an enemy death star. It is all thrilling stuff.

Quicksilva's Glass is amazing to look at. Psychedelic colours make you want to blink in this repetitive but addictive game. There are hundreds of screens to blast through, and whole sections are spent dodging columns as you hurtle through a 3D spacescape. The rest of the time is spent shooting radar antennae off unsuspecting space ships. The graphics make up for any limitations in the game and demonstrates that a traditional shoot 'em up need not be boring.

This final section consists of a number of games which cannot be categorised. A strange mixture falls into this area - many are shoot 'em ups in some form or another, others require an element of cunning and strategy.

Gyron from Firebird, a Sinclair User classic, is a unique game in which you must travel through a complex maze, dodging massive rolling balls and keeping a watchful eye on the guardian towers to be round at each junction. Those shoot at you, but approaching from another angle may change the direction of their fire. As there are two mazes to get through, it should take months. Gyron is likely to deter arcade nuts, but for those with staying power, it is an attractive proposition. It did make a brief appearance in the top ten at the time of writing, but has since fallen away.

US Gold's Spy Hunter, based on the arcade game of the same name, is a faithful replica of the original. It all takes place on the road as you drive your souped-up sports car through a variety of traps laid down by the baddies. Equip your motor with a variety of weapons, obtainable from a weapons van which you drive into Italian Job style. Rockets, smoke screens and oil slicks are all strongly reminiscent of 007.

Elite's Airwolf is a game that we found so hard as to be almost impossible, and which everyone else seemed to find a cinch - and told us so in no uncertain terms! Try if you can, to fly your chopper down a long, narrow tunnel to rescue five scientists stuck at the end. Blast your way through walls, which rematerialise as fast as you can destroy them - a well nigh impossible task for those whose trigger fingers and joysticks have suffered from the likes of Daley Thomson's Decathlon. Airwolf has done better than we predicted. You can't win them all.

Ghostbusters, the mega box office hit last Christmas was a prime candidate for a computer game and Activision was first to the ghost. Featuring all the best parts of the film, it was an instant success and Activision did well to launch it simultaneously with the movie. Drive around the city coaxing ghouls into your ghost trap but listen out for a Marshmallow Alert. That giant sticky marshmallow man is quite capable of flattening whole streets unless halted. Greenbacks play an important part in the game as you have to buy your equipment to get started, and earn enough prize money for the number of ghosts caught, in order to take part in a final showdown with Zuul.

Finally Tapper from US Gold - another Sinclair User classic. Tapper is a simple but refreshing game centered round an all-American soda bar. You play a harassed barman, who must serve his customers with drinks. Easy at first as you slide them down the bar but wait until they have gulped down the fizzy stuff. Running backwards and forwards between four bars, make sure the customers have got a drink, and catch the empties as they come skidding back. There are three difficulty levels, each one faster and more hectic than the last. Tapper is moving up the charts and we are sure that it will go far towards refreshing the parts other games cannot reach.

The fierce competition over the last 12 months has chased many companies into liquidation. There have, however, been successes, particularly with a number of small software houses bringing new blood into the market. That can only be seen as a healthy sign.

The lack of QL games software is the only disappointment. Where is it? Other than a few basic programs such as Reversi, which cut its eye teeth on the ZX-81 years ago, there has been a dearth of games for this flagging micro. If games of the quality of Knight Lore can be produced for the Spectrum, why not for the QL?

Gyron defies description and consequently met with mixed feelings from both press and public.

A maze scenario disguises a challenging strategy game in which you must reach the founts of wisdom hidden within the Necropolis labyrinth which, in turn, nestles within the outer Atrium labyrinth. Giant spheres roll along the corridors, and rising above the walls are the Towers, guarding the maze and always ready to retaliate. Attacking the towers may cause them to turn, vanish or reappear elsewhere.

Ingenious programming techniques were employed, avoiding attribute clash by the rapid interchanging of alternate displays.