A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

	Brainstorm (Firebird, 1987) The name suggests that this game is going to seriously hurt your brain, and it will! There are 26 screens, each containing areas of different colours. A ball bounces around the screen, and you must manoeuvre three coloured lines using a cursor so that the ball is trapped in a red area of the screen, where you will score points. If the ball enters a purple area, however, you will lose points, and if it enters a green area, it will warp to another area of the screen. To go to the next screen, you must have more points than when you started the screen. It's frustrating at first, but if you're smart, you can easily find ways to trap the ball. I don't know what other people will think, but I love this game to bits! More information on CPCSOFTS 9
	Bravestarr (US Gold, 1987) Reviewed by John Beckett Based on the awesome 80s cartoon show of the same name, Bravestarr is a truly awesome game. The story goes that your master, Shaman, has been captured by the evil Tex Hex, and you must get him back. Apart from flying around on your hover-jet shooting bad guys, you can visit various locales, grill the regulars, learn clues to Tex Hex's whereabouts, and so on. The graphics are very colourful and detailed, the sound is excellent (there's even an attempt at the show's theme tune!), and the game is hugely fun, mixing several genres successfully. My only gripe is the game's length – it's very short (I finished it in around ten minutes!), but that doesn't matter because you'll play it again and again! More information on CPCSOFTS 9
	Braxx Bluff (Amsoft, 1985) Three explorers went to the planet of Prolon, but their rover vehicle has run out of power and is stranded in Braxx Bluff, and its life support systems are failing slowly. Your mission is to find and rescue them. The gameplay consists of several stages, all of which are presented in 3D, with fairly crude graphics to represent the landscape. On some stages, you will hear a signal which indicates if you are heading in the right direction. Some stages also see you fending off Krittas, who will attack you or drain the rover of power. The sound effects are very basic and the graphics are very crudely drawn, yet in spite of this, the 3D effect works rather well. However, the major annoyances with this game are that if you make a mistake, the game usually ends instantly instead of giving you another chance, and the final stage is also extremely difficult to complete. More information on CPCSOFTS 5
	Breakthru (US Gold, 1986) Reviewed by Pug You're on a mission – drive like mad through enemy territory and reclaim technology that has fallen into the wrong hands. What you get is a small game area that block-scrolls, with plain-looking visuals. This coin-op conversion is a rushed effort of dodging, shooting or jumping over whatever approaches, combined with grubby-looking graphics. Collision detection is also in question at times which results in a very frustrating game experience and a lot of "game overs". Not US Gold's finest hour. More information on CPCSOFTS 2
	Brian Bloodaxe (The Edge, 1985) Brian Bloodaxe is a Viking who one day decided he would invade Britain. Having landed on its shores, you now have to guide Brian around 127 screens in his search for the Crown Jewels. Once you have found them, you must then find the Throne, and Brian will have conquered Britain! Unfortunately, this is an extremely difficult task. The collision detection is very unforgiving, and even a moderate fall from a platform can cost you one of your four lives. The layout of the rooms is quite confusing as well; several rooms have exits that don't take you back to the place from where you entered the room! Although there is a weird and wonderful variety of enemies, the graphics are poor and the gameplay is so frustrating that most people will quickly give up. More information on CPCSOFTS 4
	The Brick (Diabolic, 1989) Of the many Breakout clones I have played, this ranks as one of the worst. Twenty levels are there to be played, but after a few minutes of playing the second level, you'll switch off and play something else. It's that old favourite, the indestructible brick, and on the second level, the other bricks are enclosed inside three walls of them so that it's very difficult to reach them. In addition, the ball moves too slowly and the aliens that move about the screen get in the way. It would probably take hours to complete the second level! The graphics are terrible, too, and your bat is very difficult to see. More information on CPCSOFTS 3
	Brick Breaker (Dro Soft, 1987) Reviewed by Pug Another Breakout clone for the CPC. This offering is a very crude effort with nothing to hold your attention for very long. Single-coloured, bland-looking visuals mixed with the jerky movement of the bat and ball soon ruin all hope for this one. Collision detection is another issue, not to mention poor presentation and only one sound effect. Even the few power-ups on offer can't save this one. It does have a high score table, though, but I doubt you'll want to add your name to it. More information on CPCSOFTS 2
	Bride of Frankenstein (39 Steps, 1987) Reviewed by John Beckett It's obvious at first glance who was behind this game – Viz Design, creators of the identical-looking Werewolves of London. In this similarly-themed game (which was later re-released by Codemasters as Frankenstein Jnr.), you play as Frankie's fiancée and must search around the castle and its grounds, looking for your future husband's brain, lungs and other organs which have somehow become scattered. Unlike the enjoyable Werewolves of London, you have no form of attack and must simply flee from the ghosts and skeletons which pursue you. And if they catch you, you're screwed; you often can't escape until you're dead. Basically, the game is a boring maze, where you're either fleeing or swapping keys around to open doors – yawn. Nice, colourful, cartoony graphics, though. More information on CPCSOFTS 5
	Bridge-It (Amsoft, 1984) Once you've seen this game, you'll reckon it is one of the worst CPC games ever – it certainly isn't anywhere close to being the best! There's a walkway connecting two houses together, and you have to get as many of the little men as you can to walk from one house to the other by linking the walkways together at the right time. It is an extremely slow and boring game which is made all the worse by the terrible, irritating music (which mercifully can be switched off) and the horrible graphics. More information on CPCSOFTS 0
	British Super League (Cult, 1990) This is a football management game in which you are the manager of one of 16 teams competing in the British Super League, which consists of a mixture of teams from the English and Scottish leagues. It quickly becomes clear that it's yet another poor game from Cult. There are no graphics worthy of the name; in the match highlights, the players are represented by asterisks, and big black boxes flash on the screen to show where the ball is being passed to. There are no detailed statistics for each player, so you can't tell how good they are, and it's not possible to find out how good players from other teams are, either. It is actually written in machine code, but it gives the impression that it's written in BASIC, and as a result, it's best that you avoid it. More information on CPCSOFTS 3

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z