Colonel-in-Chief Matt Ridley was bored with his desk job, and decided to enter the Sangfalmadore Run – a training arena and maze that has now become unstable. However, he has become totally lost, so you have been sent to rescue him in your Incredible Shrinking Sphere. The arena consists of four levels, which in turn consist of four plates stacked on top of each other. Each plate is made up of tiles, some of which affect your sphere in different ways, making it smaller or larger, or lighter or heavier. You can also make the sphere invulnerable for a long time, allowing you to save ammunition. There is a strong puzzle element to this game, which I like, and the isometric graphics are good. However, the action is a bit slow, and it is really annoying having to go back to the very start of the level if you lose a life.

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Like one of Codemasters' earlier games, Super Stunt Man, you have been hired by a film company to drive a fast Italian sports car for some action-packed thrills in a new film. This time there are five scenes, including another jump across the Grand Canyon. As before, cars and helicopters also take part in the film to impede your progress and make life difficult for you, as well as shooting at you. Many scenes also contain mine sites, so you must be careful where you drive. The graphics have been improved considerably and the music on the menu is also good, but the gameplay has worsened; it's simply too difficult. There are too many obstacles and the time limit is too small.

See also: Super Stunt Man.

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Italy 1990
(US Gold, 1990)

Recreate the 1990 World Cup in this fantastic football game. Choose your favourite team out of the 24 available and attempt to reach the World Cup final. It's obvious that great care has been taken with this game; it's fast, the music is great, and the graphics are wonderful, particularly the players themselves, who even wear the right colour of kit for their country – you don't find that in many football games! The only problems are that it's too easy to win against the computer, and when you do win the final, there's a bug which tells you that the losing team won the World Cup (which was corrected in a later release – Italy 1990 Winners Edition). It's still great fun, though.

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It's a Knockout is based on the 1980s TV show of the same game. Six European countries compete in six mini-games where you have to score as many points as possible. The games on offer are mostly simple affairs with hardly any grab factor. The joystick controls are a little sluggish at times, making some of the games very tricky indeed. The visuals include poor presentation and crude-looking graphics, with only a few sound effects to liven things up. Once you complete the competition you'll look for something better to play instead.

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Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road
(Virgin, 1990)

Race around dirt tracks in massive, overgrown trucks against three other competitors and be the first to complete four laps of each track – if you don't, you'll lose one of your three lives. The trucks are very difficult to control and seem to have a mind of their own, and they ricochet off the barriers as if they were rubber balls! The tracks are also very bumpy, which doesn't help matters either. Prize money is allocated to the top three finishers at the end of each race which you can use to buy extra equipment, including nitros which give your truck a temporary boost of speed. The graphics are fairly simple but clear, while a short, but very catchy, tune plays throughout the game. All in all, it's a fairly good game, although there aren't very many tracks.

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