An arcade game licence tie-in of Bally Midway's top-down, vertically scrolling driving shoot-'em-up. You play a super spy out to save your own life from a variety of other spies intent on doing you harm. Taking control of a fast red sports car which can transform into a speedboat is how you plan to stay alive. You have the option of playing at one of two skill levels – novice or expert. Just like the arcade version, you drive along a winding course with large amounts of enemy spies to blow up, either by bumping them off the road or blasting them with your firepower. A lorry also drives by regularly to upgrade your weaponry. Graphically it's different to the arcade version but not in a negative way. The gameplay and control of your vehicle is more than agreeable and you'll find yourself playing again and again to get a higher score.

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Watch a YouTube video of this game by: Xyphoe.

Rating: 6/10

Two spies are in an embassy, and they have to collect four objects before making their escape in an aeroplane. The objects are all hidden underneath furniture and ornaments, so a lot of searching is needed – and you'll need to find the briefcase first. The amusement really begins when you plant booby-traps to catch your enemy unawares, and steal the objects off him – but try to remember where you planted them, or you may be caught out! It's got simple graphics and sound effects, but it is so addictive in the two-player option that you won't be able to resist it.

See also: Spy vs Spy: The Island Caper.

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Rating: 9/10

Those two spies are at it again – this time they're stranded on a desert island and have to find three pieces of a missile and return it to a submarine. The traps are more inventive this time, and they include napalm bombs and nooses, and there's a gun lying somewhere too... Sadly, everything that made Spy vs. Spy such enormous fun (especially with two players) has gone. The scrolling is excruciatingly slow, the controls don't respond well, and the traps are too difficult to place. I would stick with the original game.

See also: Spy vs Spy.

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Watch a YouTube video of this game by: ChinnyVision.

Rating: 4/10

Both the British and the Russians have had some of their submarines stolen by Karl Stromberg. The British have sent out James Bond to recapture their sub, while the Russians have sent the attractive Anya Amasova. The last of the five James Bond games to be released for the CPC has five levels taking place on both land and sea, and all of them involve steering your car or boat and avoiding the scenery (you can try shooting the enemies, but it does little good). You have to collect tokens in the first three levels to buy the equipment to go to the next level. All the levels see you doing the same thing each time, and there's very little variety.

See also: Licence to Kill, Live and Let Die, The Living Daylights, A View to a Kill.

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

Rating: 4/10

You have been transported to the mysterious planet of Sram, where the high priest Cinomeh has imprisoned the King Egres IV. (If you wonder where these strange names come from, they're based on the names of the game's authors.) You must free him – but first, you will need to find the hermit, and all the ingredients for a special potion that he will make for you. This text adventure comes from France and is regarded as a classic there, although you can also play the game in English or German. Certainly the graphics are fairly impressive, but I found the parser to be lacking in some areas, and finding the exact combination of words to perform particular actions is frustrating. I suppose it was good for its time, but nowadays it isn't as good.

See also: Sram 2.

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Rating: 7/10

Sram 2

(ERE Informatique, 1986)

Now that Egres IV is in power again, he repays your kindness by ruling through tyranny, oppressing his people and using sorcery. The only way to stop him is to kill him – but in a rather unusual way, by making what is known in France as 'la galette des rois', or 'the kings' cake' – a cake with a bean hidden inside it. You start in a crypt, where the only ways out are to open the tombs contained within it. I wasn't particularly satisfied with Sram, but this sequel is much better. The graphics are as good as, if not better than, the original game, and there are no problems finding the right combination of words to solve puzzles. On the other hand, it is slightly too easy, but that doesn't worry me too much.

See also: Sram.

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Rating: 9/10

The evil Dr. Vardos has devised a plan to take over the whole world, and the only person who can stop him is Ricky Steel and his Class A101 flying car, Nightwind. However, Ricky has left his car on the other side of town, so in the first level, you're on foot, shooting Dr. Vardos' androids and helicopters. Once you find your car, you fly across a desert, again shooting everything that moves, and then fly over a river, trying to bomb submarines. The graphics are monochrome – although I'm not saying they're bad – but the sound effects are OK, and there is a nice tune that only plays at the start of the game. However, even on the easiest of the four difficulty levels, most players will find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to progress beyond the second level.

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Rating: 6/10

Venture through 15 screens of platforming action, taking you through mines, ice caverns, jungles and deserts, before reaching hell itself. Each screen is filled to the brim with perilous obstacles to avoid and gaps to jump. With only five lives, you're going to need them all, and indeed, you could do with more, because the game is unbelievably tough, as well as being slow and jerky. Each screen overwhelms you with obstacles, and if you make a mistake (which is all too often), you're sent right back to the start of the screen. The graphics are OK, albeit garish at times, and the sound effects are simple, but the rest of the game stinks.

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Rating: 1/10

Remember Scramble? That game where you pilot a spaceship through caverns collecting fuel and dropping bombs, etc.? Well, this is an early attempt at bringing the game to the CPC. For the year it was released, this is not a bad attempt. Sure, the scrolling is a little jerky and you can't actually drop bombs, but it's fun and makes good use of the CPC's colour palette. It's presented well and you can choose which stage you wish to start at. A pleasant but primitive tune plays on the title screen, with in-game effects doing their job. A hidden gem from the early days of the CPC.

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Rating: 7/10

Star Bowls is a really good little action game featuring platforming, exploration, item collection and shoot-'em-up action. The game features well drawn backgrounds and satisfying explosions when you destroy enemies. I particularly liked the ability to change direction in mid-air while firing as this helps improve the gameplay. To help you traverse the environment you have a a jet pack and you can use hooks to ascend and descend to different locations. The game does have some poor music at the start but the in-game effects are good enough.

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Rating: 7/10