You might notice that from this week, we're no longer printing the 'real' 16-bit and 8-bit top 10 charts. Despite being the only charts to have any worthwhile meaning at all, we've been forced to dump them and stick with separated full-price and budget charts. The reason for this is that those lovely ELSPA people have seemingly decreed that Gallup, the company who put the charts together, are no longer to be permitted to compile a chart of games based purely on sales, without regard to price. This makes me angry. In an all-prices chart, you can see which full-price games are so good that they're managing to outsell the cheapies, as well as still being able to tell for yourself which are the best-sellers in the two individual areas. Separated charts have no relevance other than to themselves, and serve no purpose for anyone other than software house PR departments. Speaking for myself, I'm getting just a little fed-up with this self-appointed governing body's dictatorial attitude, but perhaps I'm over-reacting. What do you think, do you want to see real charts or glorified advertisements? Write and tell me at 'Give 'Em A Uniform And They Think They're Hitler', the usual address.

RUN RUN RUN

What, again? US Gold's original sequel to Sega's mammoth coin-op success Out Run was mooted as far back as 1987, and indeed some magazines even put it on their cover at the time. It never saw the light of day, though, as the official arcade follow-up Turbo Out Run stole its thunder, and Europa disappeared into the history books. Now, however, USG have decided that the time is ripe for a third Out Run computer game, and both the 16-bit and 8-bit versions are well under development. It isn't the same game from all those years ago, but a completely new re-working of the theme, which puts the player in charge of a whole series of vehicles from a jet-ski to a motorbike and a Porsche. From the Amiga and C64 work-in-progress versions I've seen it's looking good, so watch out for it in a couple of months' time.

PACMANIA

This week sees the release of Pacmania on the Sega Master System, the first Sega game from UK firm Tecmagik. It's a conversion of the Namco arcade game, and includes all the features of the original, as well as some extra secret bonus features that weren't in the coin-op. The game gives the Master System a real workout, but it holds up to the challenge with arcade-true graphics, smooth scrolling mazes, and generally everything you could possibly want from a Pac-Man game. The playability seems to be balanced at just the right level, and despite a rather hefty-sounding £29.99 price tag, this is a must buy for Master System arcade fans.

HERE IT COMES AGAIN

Fans of just about every game genre are well catered for by the burgeoning re-release industry, but there's one area where there's surprisingly little to be found. I feel a need for speed coming on...

This week: RACING GAMES

OUT RUN (Kixx, £7.99 for 16-bits, £3.99 for 8-bits)

Given a bit of extra relevance by the forthcoming (and long-awaited) release of Out Run Europa, this Kixx release is a strange kettle of contradictions. Out Run was one of the biggest arcade successes of all time, and also one of the biggest computer-conversion disasters of all time. All the 8-bit versions were atrocious, and the ST version left much to be desired also, but all racked up enormous sales around the Christmas 1988 period. Some time later, the Amiga version finally appeared, and while it wasn't perhaps surprising that it was the best of the lot, it nonetheless gave many people a bit of a shock by actually being very good. The graphics were crisp and elegant, sound and presentation were dramatic and slick (in that order), and for once the gameplay held together too. It's still one of the prettiest racing experiences around, but for Amiga owners only.

***

SUPER HANG-ON (Hit Squad, £7.99 for 16-bits, £2.99 for 8-bits)

Sega's lightning-fast coin-op was always going to be a tough conversion job, but cult programming hero ZZKJ took up the challenge and produced some of the most remarkable arcade feel seen on the home micros to this day. From the Spectrum to the Amiga, Super Hang-On looked, felt and played like the real thing, with superb adjustable controls and speed that kept your heart in your mouth from the start to the end of every winding, dipping and rolling course. The graphics aren't much to shout about, but this is a thrilling, gripping game which can still show a thing or two to any of today's road racers. Whichever machine you own, this is a completely essential addition to your software collection. If you haven't got it, do something about it. Now.

*****

CRAZY CARS (Hit Squad, £7.99 for 16-bits, £2.99 for 8-bits)

This game was originally released by Titus, and was the first in a series of striped-landscape-into-the-screen-scrolling driving games which earned them a richly-deserved bad reputation which was to dog them for quite some time afterwards. The only thing Crazy about the cars of the title was the way they leapt unfeasibly into the air when they collided with one of the other cars which occasionally popped up on the otherwise featureless roads. Oh, and the way they glided sideways like a rather jumpy hovercraft when turning left or right. Abysmal on all formats, the Spectrum version is arguably the worst, due to the complete absence of any level of challenge whatsoever, but the others are just as unplayable, and in relative terms the 16-bits (ST especially) probably have the worst graphics. This is a real 2CV of a game, except without the cult quality. Avoid like an angry crocodile with the plague. And toothache.

*

BEG, BORROW AND BURN

BEG

STACK UP (Zeppelin, Amiga, £7.99)

I reviewed the Speccy version of this sweet little Columns-style puzzle game a couple of weeks ago, but the Amiga version is now available, featuring even smoother gameplay, cute little graphics (with several sets to choose from) and a completely adorable Oriental background tune to whistle along to. A must for Tetris fans.

BORROW

MAUPITI ISLAND (Lankhor, Amiga, £25.99)

This charming and different adventure was a huge hit on the continent, but this translated version might be just a touch too slight for UK gamers. What's there is rather lovely, it's just that there isn't very much of it. Try for yourself, but don't expect it to last for weeks.

BURN

THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN (Accolade, Amiga, £25.99)

This quite engrossing strategy game based on the Tom Clancy book is actually pretty respectable. Until, that is, you stumble across the ludicrous and banal arcade game dropped right into the middle of it. A potentially good game, completely ruined by stupid design.

REVIEW STARS

***** - WILD AT HEART

**** - BLUE VELVET

*** - ELEPHANT MAN

** - ERASERHEAD

* - DUNE

GAME REVIEW

FRENETIC

Core Design, £20.99 for Amiga and ST

After the huge critical success of Chuck Rock, Core seem to have chosen to consolidate their position for a while, with a couple of distinctly run-of-the-mill-style arcade games. First came Warzone, which was a very competent but uninspired Ikari Warriors clone, and now Frenetic has appeared, borrowing heavily from a long line of vertically-scrolling shoot-'em-ups which includes Electronic Zoo's Battle Squadron and Image Works' Xenon II. Sadly though, despite all its inspirations, Frenetic fails to add up to the sum of its parts. While the graphics are all very pretty, the scrolling fast and smooth, and the sound loud and violent, the gameplay never really grabs, and what you're left with is a curiously empty-feeling blaster which lacks the all-important character needed to make you want to play it more than twice. It's got all the right ingredients, lots of tough baddies, and all the usual power-ups and end-of-level bosses, but like Frankenstein's monster, it just hasn't got that vital spark of life. I didn't like this game, I didn't hate it, I just couldn't work up the interest to have any kind of feelings about it at all. Indifference on a disk.

**

HATSTAND CORNER

It seems that there's hardly a movie released these days without having a computer game licence attached to it, but not many people know that the recent Oscar-winning Driving Miss Daisy was actually the subject of much wheeling and dealing for the acquisition of the micro rights. Negotiations were close to completion until the movie company saw an early demo from the unnamed software house, consisting mostly of a second-rate Chase H.Q. clone, and promptly pulled out of the deal. Malicious gossip has it that the game later re-appeared as Millennium's dire Moonshine Racers, but I wouldn't know anything about that. (Damn right you wouldn't -NCE legal dept.)