System Three Software / Epyx 1986
Genre: Action, Sport
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

A well-known classic from the arcade from 1986. Business as usual: Fight against your opponents who become more stronger from round to round and try to collect as many point as possible...

You start as Karateka with the white belt - you can choose Egypt or Australia. It does not matter at all because the starting location has no influence on the game itself. After 3 rounds of fighting you either go to New York or to Rio de Janeiro - and that already was the little excursion because after round no. 3 the background graphic does not change any more. At least as far as I could play...

Ljn 1994
Genre: Action
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: SNES

WWF RAW - the reference to digital showfights. The ridiculous wrestling-scene is presented absolutely serious. And that's good for all who are amused by clearly missing but apparently very painful hooks and for those who still can't understand why two wrestlers are trying to kill each other in the ring, but having a nice barbecue together after the fight (are there any?).

Acclaim 1995
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

WWF Wrestlemania - The name says it all. The official license has both its advantages and disadvantages for the game designers. Much room for creativity concerning character design and playing modes does not remain, but these are of course advantages, either. Because well-known fighter "personalities" already exist to whom the followers of this "sport" connect different cliché attributes, the typically ridiculous plot of an average fighting game can fortunately not be found. Another point is that potential weaknesses of the playability will be easier looked over by the players because of the disciples' emotional link to their idols. The designers could therefore put all their efforts in a conversion as "realistic" as possible.

Capcom 1994
Genre: Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: SNES

The X-Men are Marvel's most successful team of superheros. And that is actually surprising if you know a bit about the history of this series. It was started back in the mid-60s, like so many others. But the X-Men never really made it, the sales couldn't compare to the Fantastic Four and all the others. So their story ended in 1970: the series was discontinued. No more stories of Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast and Iceman. Gone the threat of Magneto, the Juggernaut and the Sentinels.

Mr Chip Software 1987
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Plus/4

Everything was so easy 'back in the days'. Just throw together a action-packed game concept in which you control some vehicle in some tricky situation, add some nice graphics, mix it up and there you are: a finished game.

Mosaic 1987
Genre: Strategy, Puzzle
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

Yes Prime Minister is, as the name suggests, a computer game based on BBC2's TV show of the same name which started as Yes Minister in 1980 got renamed when the protagonist got promoted.

Imagine / Konami 1985
Genre: Action, Sport
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

Aspiring youngster Oolong wants to become Grand Master of Kung-Fu. To achieve this, he has to defeat ten opponents (one after another, not all at the same time).

Nothing special so far, the mid-80s had their fair share of beat 'em ups (and many good ones). What sets Yie Ar Kung-Fu (I'll drop the capitalization seen on the title screen here) apart is the opponents. In the seminal hits of the time (Karate Champ and all), the player mostly faced faceless enemies who were identical to each other and also to the player. In Yie Ar (to shorten this even further), each opponent has his or her own sprite, his or her own moves and even his or her own weapon (!).

Bitmap Brothers 1996
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 6/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Is it just a cheap "Command&Conquer" clone or a game with new ideas? Both is right because 'Z' is obviously a part of the past wave of real-time strategy games but it is also far better than similar games.

Mr Creosote 1999
Genre: Puzzle
Rating: 0/6
Language: Deutsch
Licence: Freeware
System: PC

Lucasfilm Games 1988
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 4/6
Language: English, Deutsch
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

Protagonist Zak McKracken is working for a tabloid in San Francisco. He hates his job, and he'd much rather write a novel instead. But he has to earn his money, and so his fat boss gives him another assignment: to write a story about a two-headed squirrel. Urk!