Someone has to take on the terrorists and there's only one man for the job – Joe Blade. Guide our hero in this quirky platformer around the enemy base freeing the hostages, solving the puzzles to arm the bombs whilst collecting any keys along the way. However, all this has to be completed before the explosives go off, so it's also a battle against time. It's unfortunate that the monochrome graphics and poor sound really let down what is actually quite a good challenge.

See also: Joe Blade 2, Joe Blade 3.

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The second instalment in the Joe Blade series is set in 1995, in a crime-ridden city, where muggers rule the streets. Only Joe Blade can clean up the city! This game is much like the original; you wander around the maze-like streets to track down sixteen citizens – men in raincoats (oo-er!) who will give you one of four puzzles. These must be solved in 60 seconds, or the game's over. The gameplay is really limited; all the screens look the same, and it's easy to lose track of where you are. The graphics and sound are both poor as well.

See also: Joe Blade, Joe Blade 3.

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5

Joe Blade is back – again! After his previously more musclebound antics, this represents more of a return to the first in the trilogy. Once again you are rescuing hostages, collecting objects and setting off bombs. This time, the environment is a large office tower comprised of several levels navigated by a lift, all filled with various nefarious terrorists, thugs, mines, and somewhat lethal robots. As with its predecessors, this is quite a challenging game, but you can't help but think that by the third instalment they would have come up with something better, as there seems to be very little advancement in terms of sound, graphics and playability.

See also: Joe Blade, Joe Blade 2.

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5

Another excellent game by Hi-Tec based on a popular Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, Jonny Quest has you in the role of the schoolboy supersleuth as you roam the fortress of the evil Dr. Zin, rescuing your kidnapped comrades – your mystic Indian friend Hadji, your dog Bandit, your bodyguard, and finally, your inventor father. The game itself – a nice blend of platform action and Dizzy-style puzzles – is fairly big, but also quite linear, so you never get lost, and little surprises are thrown in along the way, like the enjoyable scuba-diving section, so you never get bored. The graphics are good and well animated, while the sound effects are sparse but serviceable. Also, the difficulty level is perfect; it's a challenging game, but not impossible. Overall, one of my favourite games!

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The name means 'the game of the goose' in English, and it's much like snakes and ladders. Get up to three friends to play (you can't play it on your own, unless you want to take control of all the players) and roll the dice to progress along the board. Landing on the geese lets you jump some of the squares, although there are some squares that cause you to miss some turns – and don't land on the skull! Younger players will enjoy the bright colours and pictures, but the scrolling is extremely slow and anyone else will find the game very tedious.

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Plenty of simulators exist for racing cars, but have you ever fancied having a go at driving an articulated lorry? You've started work with a haulage company and have to transport goods around town. Your lorry can only store so much, so several trips will be needed, and you'll have to watch your fuel gauge as well, and make sure you don't speed in built-up areas! There is a practice mode to help you get used to driving the lorry, but I never got used to parking the lorry in a loading bay, which you must learn how to do. It's fun driving around town like a maniac at first, but if you can't park, you'll get nowhere. The graphics and sound effects aren't convincing, either.

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5

A cross between Breakout and Space Invaders is perhaps the best way to describe this Spanish arcade game. You control an alien who can walk along the top of a long wall consisting of bricks. Instead of shooting at the monsters, you must kill them by jumping on the wall, which results in a brick being dislodged. Hopefully the brick will hit a monster and kill it. However, if you dislodge too many bricks, there will be gaps in the wall that you may be unable to jump across! The graphics are brilliant and really detailed, although there are few sound effects. It's also a rather difficult game, but persevere with it and you may well end up liking it.

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7

Jumpman was the original name for Mario, and the cover for this game featured a Mario lookalike. So you'd think it would be a Mario clone, right? Wrong, it's a Q*Bert clone... You play as Q*Bert lookalike Hubert C. Jumpman, and have to hop around the blocks, turning them all another colour, while avoiding the blobs pursuing you, and trying not to fall off. There are six levels, which repeat again and again, each time adding another evil blob to the mix. The graphics are very colourful but basic, and the game slows somewhat as more blobs appear on the scene, but the game is mercilessly addictive and actually very good fun! It's a pity that you only get three lives, though.

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7

While Tarzan is away, the native tribesmen of the jungle have taken advantage and captured Jane. Unless she can escape, she will end up in the cooking pot for their next meal! On each level, Jane can climb up and down a vine on the right of the screen, and she must fire bananas at the tribesmen as they move about the screen. If she lets too many of them get away, or she is hit by too many of the coconuts that the tribesmen throw at her, she'll literally end up in a stew – although there may be one last desperate opportunity to escape... This French game features very bright and cheerful graphics, and after playing the first screen, the game looks quite promising. However, once you play the second screen several times, you'll find that it's far too difficult to be able to progress further, even on the easy difficulty level.

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4

I don't know how many Operation Wolf clones were released on the CPC, but as far as I know, almost none of them was even a decent game. Jungle Warfare isn't an exception to the rule. The graphics and the sound are just average. The scrolling is smooth, though, but that's due to the fact that the playing area occupies less than half of the screen. The gameplay is quite dull; you won't see more than two or three enemies on the screen at the same time. On top of everything, you can be shot only three times before you die, which makes the game rather difficult.

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