The Famous Five
(Enigma Variations, 1991)

Most of us have heard of the author Enid Blyton's creation, The Famous Five – four children and a dog who go on exciting adventures and solve mysteries. This text adventure is based on the first of the 21 books in the series, in which three of the gang travel by train to Kirrin village to stay with their Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin, and meet their cousin Georgina. Together, the gang explore Kirrin Island nearby and search for treasure. This is a great adventure which is very suitable for novice players, although completing it will still be a challenge. There is also excellent use of character interaction; some tasks can only be completed by a particular character, for instance. Unfortunately, the disc version (which contains graphics for some of the locations) is bugged and cannot be completed. It's a shame, but at least the cassette version is fully playable!

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The extremely valuable Fantasia Diamond has been stolen and taken to a fortress. Boris the master spy has attempted and failed to retrieve it, so now it's up to you. Among the many characters that you will meet on your journey are a toy robot, a bunch of nasty pixies, an elf, a guardian, a conductor, and a rather unfriendly woodcutter, so there's certainly a lot of variety! Some locations have very crude pictures, although given the year this game was released, this can be excused. There are several random elements during the game which you cannot influence, and the need to find and consume food and drink is an irritation that I could have done without, but the puzzles, with one notable exception, aren't too difficult.

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Take yourself on a journey through the human body. You have been miniaturised and injected into the body of a scientist and have to collect pieces of a submarine which you assemble in the brain. However, you also have to fight off infections and kill all the bacteria before the scientist's temperature becomes critically high. The graphics are a bit basic and very dark colours are used, although you can try the green screen option if you have problems. Despite this (and the horrifically awful tune on the menu screen), it's an enjoyable game to play.

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Fantasy World Dizzy
(Codemasters, 1989)

This is the third of Dizzy's adventures and I reckon it is the best. Daisy has been kidnapped and is being held in a tower in the clouds, and he also has to collect thirty coins to show his love for her. This is the first adventure to feature Dizzy's friends, the Yolkfolk, and you'll need their help. There are also some mysterious creatures to watch out for, such as hawks, dragons, crocodiles and the armorog! Dizzy sure has a tough life... The graphics are better and more detailed than the previous two Dizzy adventures and the music is quite jolly as well, and at least you have more than one life this time!

See also: Bubble Dizzy, Crystal Kingdom Dizzy, Dizzy, Dizzy Down the Rapids, Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk, Fast Food, Kwik Snax, Magicland Dizzy, Panic Dizzy, Spellbound Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy.

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Dizzy stars in a Pac-Man-style game, where he must eat all the items of food in each maze while avoiding the ghosts – Bonzo, Wiza, Pipa and Fido – each of which has their own personality. Fortunately, there are many power-ups to collect, and bottles of ketchup, mustard and relish will also help Dizzy out. There is a total of thirty levels to go through. It's a nice game with colourful graphics and some rather neat music, although you get an extra life every three levels, which makes things a little too easy. Still, the cartoons you get to see every three levels are fun to watch!

See also: Bubble Dizzy, Crystal Kingdom Dizzy, Dizzy, Dizzy Down the Rapids, Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk, Fantasy World Dizzy, Kwik Snax, Magicland Dizzy, Panic Dizzy, Spellbound Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy.

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Una Cum has now captured The Fear, a small but very powerful wooden casket. It is locked inside a stone circle, and to release it, you must touch the stones in the right order. Having done that, you must then take The Fear to the monastery for good to triumph over evil. You can take control of either Silver (Agravain's daughter), or her husband Frost. The graphics are OK, but there are few sound effects. As for the game itself, it's pretty average and not as good as its predecessor. Your character moves too fast, you can often find yourself getting lost in the scenery, and worst of all, you can only fire horizontally.

See also: Storm.

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An evil dictator known simply as Fernandez has taken over the South American country of the Democratic Republic of El Diablo, and its exiled leaders have called on you to free the country. You must take on Fernandez's army single-handedly and blow up eight bases. The playing area is enormous, and you have to shoot (or avoid) soldiers, tanks and mines, among other things. You also have some explosive shells which allow you to enter prisons, which you'll need to do throughout the game, because the prisons link to other areas. The graphics aren't bad, but the music quickly becomes irritating – but it can be switched off. I don't like this game; all the shooting and exploration becomes repetitive, and even with a built-in map, the bases are quite hard to find.

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This is another fine example of how original some CPC games were. You take the role of Learic the wizard and are pitted against your brother Leanoric in a sorcery battle to the death. You have to make your way across the medieval kingdom of Little Dullford collecting ingredients to make a wide range of spells. You then mix these spells in your cauldron and use them against your opponent. The graphics here are very quaint and the main theme tune is an absolute classic.

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Fiendish Freddy's Big Top o' Fun
(Mindscape, 1990)

Your Big Top circus has taken out a loan of $10,000, but the bank wants it paid back in full tonight! You must raise the money to ensure that the show will go on, but Fiendish Freddy is determined to stop you. The show consists of six circus events – high diving, juggling, the trapeze, knife throwing, tightrope walking, and the human cannonball. As with nearly all such games, some events are easily mastered, while others (mainly the tightrope walking and human cannonball) are much more tricky, and as a result, are not much fun to play. Despite this, the game overall is still very enjoyable, thanks to the astonishingly colourful graphics and superb animation. There are many humorous touches throughout all of the events, as well as several jolly circus-themed tunes. This is a brilliant game that is full of laughs, especially if you're playing with one or more friends.

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The 5th Axis
(Activision/Loriciels, 1985)
Reviewed by Guillaume Chalard

In the early 25th century, a scientist has managed to create a time machine. Unfortunately, it exploded and items belonging to other centuries are scattered all over his laboratory. You must collect them and build a new machine. By the way, there are a lot of cyborgs that have gone mad and who will try to kill you... Although it begins like a role-playing game (you must define the attributes of your character) this game is a pure platform game, in which you must find items, kick monsters and climb stairs. The graphics are rather weak but the music is fine and the animation is really smooth. Reaching the top platforms is hard because your character doesn't react quickly enough to avoid the numerous holes that will bring you down a few levels. So it's rather frustrating to play, even though it remains an enjoyable game.

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