November in Review

After a few months of relative inactivity, November saw me getting back on track with 20 new game reviews. This included my ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ mini-series, taking a look at some Mastertronic games release on other systems. I also looked at five different fighting games in my ‘Fists of Fury’ mini-series.

Acquisitions-wise it was a slow month as expected, but I did pick up three more games, one of which I had suspicions didn’t actually exist!

During last months reviews I’ve discovered a few new decent games, most notably Rad Ramp Racer, and some more complete stinkers, including Jungle Story. So my three ‘top ten’ lists have been tweaked again slightly with two new entries in each.

Top Ten Original Mastertronic Games

  1. Street Surfer (Entertainment USA, 1986)

  2. Kikstart (Mastertronic, 1985)

  3. Big Mac: The Mad Maintenance Man (Mastertronic, 1985)

  4. Rad Ramp Racer (Mastertronic Plus, 1990)  **NEW ENTRY**

  5. Bomb Fusion (Mastertronic, 1989)

  6. Kane (Mastertronic, 1985)

  7. Hero of the Golden Talisman (M.A.D., 1985)

  8. Ninja (Entertainment USA, 1986)  **NEW ENTRY**

  9. Mindtrap (Mastertronic, 1989)

10. Night Racer (Mastertronic, 1988)

Top Ten Mastertronic Re-releases

  1. Ghostbusters (Ricochet, 1988)

  2. Rock n' Bolt (Ricochet, 1988)

  3. Rescue on Fractalus (Mastertronic Plus, 1989)

  4. Gemini Wing (Mastertronic Plus, 1989)

  5. Way of the Exploding Fist (Ricochet, 1988)  **NEW ENTRY**

  6. Aliens (Ricochet, 1988)

  7. Toy Bizarre (Ricochet, 1989)

  8. Alcazar (Mastertronic, 1989)  **NEW ENTRY**

  9. Tetris (Mastertronic Plus, 1989)

10. SpeedKing (Mastertronic, 1985)

Bottom Ten Mastertronic Releases (In reverse order, worst at the bottom)

10. Rockford: The Arcade Game (M.A.D., 1988)

  9. Molecule Man (Mastertronic, 1986)  **NEW ENTRY**

  8. Knightmare (Ricochet, 1988)

  7. Speed Zone (Mastertronic, 1989)

  6. Jungle Story (Mastertronic, 1984)  **NEW ENTRY**

  5. Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (Ricochet, 1987)

  4. Double Dragon (Mastertronic Plus, 1990)

  3. FA Cup Football (Ricochet, 1988)

  2. Sport of Kings (M.A.D., 1987)

  1. The Election Game (Mastertronic, 1984)

October in Review

Well, not a lot to say about October as I’ve only just started reviewing games again after my Play Expo distractions. Those that I did review were pretty good though, with the exception of the dire Super Trolley!

So, it must be time for an updated ‘best and worst’ games chart. As mentioned a couple of months back, I’m splitting the original games from the re-releases so I now have two top tens, but am keeping a combined ‘bottom ten’. The most notable addition to these new charts is a brand new worst-ever Mastertronic game!

Top Ten Original Mastertronic Games

  1. Street Surfer (Entertainment USA, 1986)

  2. Kikstart (Mastertronic, 1985)

  3. Big Mac: The Mad Maintenance Man (Mastertronic, 1985)

  4. Bomb Fusion (Mastertronic, 1989)

  5. Kane (Mastertronic, 1985)

  6. Hero of the Golden Talisman (M.A.D., 1985)

  7. Mindtrap (Mastertronic, 1989)

  8. Night Racer (Mastertronic, 1988)

  9. Panther (Entertainment USA, 1986)

10. Protector (Mastertronic Plus, 1989)

Top Ten Mastertronic Re-releases

  1. Ghostbusters (Ricochet, 1988)

  2. Rock n' Bolt (Ricochet, 1988)

  3. Rescue on Fractalus (Mastertronic Plus, 1989)

  4. Gemini Wing (Mastertronic Plus, 1989)

  5. Aliens (Ricochet, 1988)

  6. Toy Bizarre (Ricochet, 1989)

  7. Tetris (Mastertronic Plus, 1989)

  8. Speed King (Mastertronic, 1985)

  9. Brian Jacks Superstar Challenge (Ricochet, 1987)

10. Erebus (Ricochet, 1988)

Bottom Ten Mastertronic Releases (In reverse order, worst at the bottom)

10. Super Trolley (Mastertronic, 1988)

  9. Munch Mania (Mastertronic, 1984)

  8. Rockford: The Arcade Game (M.A.D., 1988)

  7. Knightmare (Ricochet, 1988)

  6. Speed Zone (Mastertronic, 1989)

  5. Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (Ricochet, 1987)

  4. Double Dragon (Mastertronic Plus, 1990)

  3. FA Cup Football (Ricochet, 1988)

  2. Sport of Kings (M.A.D., 1987)

  1. The Election Game (Mastertronic, 1984)

I’m hoping to ramp up the frequency of reviews again over the coming weeks, so expect to see new additions to all the charts in a month’s time!