Imagine, if you will, that you are a kettle trapped in a subterranean network of mazes. Well, that's the situation you're in with this game. Shoot all the red pots and collect what's inside them, and use the tin opener (!) to open the gateway to the next section of the maze. It's a strange little game and no mistake, and it's also a bit tough, although if you can find someone to play with you, you should progress further. However, there's no variety; the next level is just larger and has more pots. It does have some wonderful title music, though.

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This is an interesting combination of Space Invaders and a typing tutor to help you learn where the keys on the keyboard are. Along the bottom of the screen are eight keys which change all the time. Hitting one of the keys fires a bullet which will kill any alien that is in its way. The first wave of aliens is easy to deal with, but things become frantic in later levels, where there are more aliens, and the keys along the bottom change more frequently. There's no excitement at all and it's too easy, although certain keys will cause problems on emulators.

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Kick Off
(Anco, 1989)

Play a single game against the computer or another player, or take part in a tournament with eight teams. You can also practice your dribbling and passing skills, and take and save some penalties. If you're playing a single game against the computer, you can also choose its skill level, from 'Sunday league' to 'international'. Whatever skill level you choose, the computer tends to be very unresponsive to your commands. It selects the player to control entirely at random – even when you pass the ball to another player. Dribbling the ball is annoyingly difficult as well. And then there are the graphics; they're absolutely appalling, with flickery sprites. I've played football games which are much worse than this, but I've played better ones as well.

See also: Kick Off 2.

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Kick Off 2
(Anco, 1990)
Reviewed by Pug

An impressive selection of options allows you to play football just how you like it. The pitch you play upon can be tweaked, as can the weather conditions which affect your control of the ball. Dribbling the ball is a little tricky to start with, but you'll soon get the hang of it. Graphically, Kick Off 2 is a colourful, fast and flicker-free experience. My only gripe is the lack of ground detail and no pitch radar, which often makes working out your position on the pitch a guessing game.

See also: Kick Off.

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As you might have guessed, this is a clone of the classic game Centipede, where you have to shoot all the segments of a centipede that travels left and right across the screen. This version is no different, although there is more than just the centipede to contend with – you have to avoid spiders and other nasty insects that also flit about the screen, and if you take too long, the ghost will get you! I think this game has dated a lot, and the digitised speech that has been added isn't enough to impress me.

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Killerball is a futuristic sport where two teams consisting of five players skate around a circular ice rink and try to score goals by pushing the ball into a small hole in the wall. It's a rather violent game, as the only way to get the ball is to knock the player holding it to the ground. You can play either a computer or a friend and take part in any of three leagues. The graphics and animation are marvellous, as is the tune, but playing against the computer is very frustrating indeed as it's rather difficult to score goals, and of course the computer gets it right every time.

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This is based on the classic arcade game Scramble, in which you flew a spacecraft through mountains and caverns while shooting missiles and bombing targets on the ground. Here, though, the spacecraft is replaced by a helicopter. The action is fast and furious, and the game scrolls very fast indeed; there's no time at all to relax! By the time you get to the third section, things become really tough indeed. There are three difficulty levels which range from difficult to impossible, but with practice, you should be able to master the first two sections. The graphics are fairly basic, but it is meant to stay faithful to the original, and the sound effects aren't too bad.

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The lovely princess has been captured by the nasty gorilla and you have to rescue her by climbing ladders, walking along platforms, and avoiding the barrels that the gorilla throws at you. Er, this is Donkey Kong, isn't it? That's absolutely correct, although it's not particularly good. There are only four levels, and when you've completed them, you go back to the first one. The fireballs that roam each level are more unpredictable than the barrels and tend to get in your way a lot. The graphics are really basic and so are the sound effects, although the music that is played on the "how high can you try?" sequence is delightful!

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I'm sure I've seen this one before... oh, I know! It's a Galaxian clone, isn't it? The only new thing that has been added are that if you play on the difficult mode, there's a force field that scrolls vertically and prevents you from shooting through it. There are only six waves of aliens before you face the Supreme Starfighter, who you must kill by first blasting through his spaceship, and then aiming at his heart. After that, the game restarts. The graphics do their job and the music is pretty good, but it's too easy.

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Kinetik
(Firebird, 1987)

Here's a most unusual game in which you explore a landscape of more than 40 screens in your spherical ship, trying to find three different objects. The reason why it's unusual is that there are all sorts of strange gravitational effects which make your ship very tricky to control; each screen has a different effect and you'll need to work out how to battle against the effect. When you have collected the three objects in the right order, normal gravity will be restored. The graphics are rather Spectrum-like, although some clever tricks allow more than the usual number of colours on the screen at the same time. However, I found that controlling the ship was just too frustrating to make the game enjoyable.

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