I'm not sure how many people know this, but the USSR was developing their own version of the Space Shuttle, and you get to pilot it in this game. Let's start with the good parts. It offers variety. First you're tasked with the launch procedure. You will go through pre-flight checks against the clock followed by another mini-game that simulates the stresses of the launch upon the human body. Finally if you're successful, there is a satellite launch. At this point the game takes an abrupt turn into an arcade shoot-'em-up, first scrolling vertically, followed by a maze-like section. Graphically it isn't great. The astronaut and space shuttle graphics early on are nice but the arcade section suffers from flicker and choppy scrolling. Original idea; shame about the execution.

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Rating: 4/10

This is the game that every Plus and GX4000 owner has, because it came free with their respective machines. It's an endurance race where you must stay on the track for as long as possible without running out of time, but first of all, you must qualify to determine your grid position. This game makes full use of the extra capabilities of the Plus and GX4000 machines and it has some beautiful, crystal-clear music on the title screen. The sky even changes from day to night to show your progress! It's touches like these that make this game better than others like it.

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Watch YouTube videos of this game by: ChinnyVision, Novabug, Xyphoe.

Rating: 8/10

Can you become a bionic block buster by exploring all 400 rooms in a maze full of monsters? The aim in this rather boring game is to explore as much of the maze as you can. Each room contains lots of monsters and lots of blocks which you can push to destroy the monsters, although there are several types of blocks and they all behave differently. However, the monsters can push blocks as well. 400 rooms is a lot, and you'll become bored long before you reach them all. The graphics and sound effects are nothing special, either.

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Rating: 4/10

Possibly inspired by the wave of Vietnam war films made in the 1980s, Butcher Hill puts you in charge of a group of soldiers navigating the rivers and dense jungles of Vietnam. Sadly, it's much more like playing a bad computer game than watching a movie. The boat section is first and it feels interminable. When you finally reach a dock, it's on foot into a 3D jungle section – possibly one of the strangest gaming experiences I have ever had, and not in a good way. The final stage is a third person shoot-'em-up in a village. The gameplay throughout is leaden and although the graphics are colourful they are often too chunky to see what's happening. The only reason to load this game would be the atmospheric title music by Ben Daglish, but even this has not been ported over well from the Spectrum original.

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Rating: 4/10

This game was also released on budget as Pro Boxing Simulator. Anyway, beneath the intriguing title is a boxing game where you are allowed (and encouraged) to cheat. There's an indicator for each player, showing the number of chances they have – when this reaches zero, they lose. If the indicator is red, it means the referee has his eyes on you and you'll be caught if you foul, but green means you can get away with it. The graphics are great and the characters and referee are well animated, and the sound of the crowd roaring is nice – their comments are even better! However, the controls are too tricky, particularly with the keyboard, and selecting the right moves seems to be a matter of luck most of the time.

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Rating: 6/10