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	Death Stalker (Codemasters, 1988) Another of those games where you must escape from a labyrinth of dungeons and caves, fighting skeletons, orcs and ghosts, opening doors, collecting spells, and releasing some prisoners along the way if you have some release spells. The graphics are extremely well drawn and the music is so atmospheric and eerie! The only problem is that the game is too difficult, and it is made harder by only having one life; if you die, you have to start all over again. More information on CPCSOFTS 8
	Deathsville (Bubble Bus, 1986) Reviewed by Pug You are Sammy Solver and you're trapped within Deathsville. You must collect objects to solve puzzles and find your eventual path to freedom. This is a platform game that is similar to Pyjamarama but with better-looking graphics. There's a castle to explore, the outdoors, cottages and underground mines; all of them are full of traps and secrets. The game can appear challenging at first, but once you solve the stairway puzzle, many aspects of the game will become clear. Well worth an hour or so of your attention. (The screenshot shows the solution to the stairway puzzle.) More information on CPCSOFTS 7
	Death Wish 3 (Gremlin, 1987) New York's streets are overrun with gangs, and the police can't handle it, so the chief has done a deal with vigilante Paul Kersey and allowed him to go and kill as many gang members as he can. You play Paul in this rather violent game, based on the equally violent film of the same name. You wander the streets with a variety of guns, scoring points for killing gang members, but losing points for killing policemen and little old ladies. You also need to raid apartments to find more weapons and locate the gang leaders and kill them. As already mentioned, this is a violent game, with bodies being graphically torn apart and blood flowing everywhere when you shoot anyone with the rocket launcher. However, the game doesn't have much depth, and I often became disoriented when using the map and compass. More information on CPCSOFTS 7
	The Deep (US Gold, 1989) Fight an onslaught of enemy submarines single-handedly in this simple shoot-'em-up. You control a boat at the top of the screen, and you must destroy the submarines using depth charges. Some submarines will release a pod when destroyed, which floats to the surface and releases a flag. Collecting this flag alerts a helicopter, which drops one of several types of power-up. Every so often, there is a token to be collected from the seabed, and you must collect it by transforming your boat into a pod and sending the pod down to the seabed. There are also several intermediate stages that you must complete before you can progress to the next level. The graphics are reasonable, but the game becomes rather dull to play quite quickly, and the Missile Command-like intermediate stage is particularly boring. More information on CPCSOFTS 4
	Deep Strike (Durell, 1986) Reviewed by Pug In this offering you take to the skies, World War I-style. You take the role of a fighter pilot escorting a bomber over enemy lines. The gameplay sees you in your cockpit with the bomber ahead of you. Pressing the SPACE bar signals the bomber to deploy its payload, which at times seems hit and miss; you can't aim properly. Several enemy aircraft swarm in and attack, and this is where you come in – but be careful not to hit the bomber. The graphics are vector-based with an effective terrain moving below you – watch those hills! As you play, you actually begin to feel like you're flying as the landscape banks and rises towards you. The game is difficult to master but fun all the same. More information on CPCSOFTS 6
	Defcom (Quicksilva, 1986) By 2056, the Star Wars satellite defence systems were ready, with eight satellites orbiting Earth. There was total peace for many years, but now aliens have taken over the satellites and started attacking Earth. You are Captain Nick Diamond, and your mission is to destroy the satellites with the sole remaining spacecraft available – the fairly standard Eagle Class E751. Your spacecraft is equipped with a cosmogun, but as you destroy more aliens, you can use a fazalaza, a dyno ray, and a blaster – the only weapon that can destroy the satellites. However, you have to blast a lot of aliens to obtain the blaster, and this is so tedious and repetitive that it's not worth the effort. The graphics lack colour as well, although the music is excellent. More information on CPCSOFTS 3
	Defcom 1 (Iber Soft, 1989) It's 1992, and there has been no conflict between the world's superpowers for many years – but there is now a serious threat to Earth, a threat so serious that the World Security Council has been put on DEFCOM 1 (er, surely it should be DEFCON 1?). Those aliens are up to no good again, and they've been detected in the Vesta-7 sector of Ceres. This is a shoot-'em-up in three parts, and you control a different vehicle in each part. You have to fly to the space shuttle launch site in a helicopter, then fly the shuttle through an asteroid belt, and then take on the aliens in a space fighter. In the first and third parts, you also have three smart bombs. This is a mediocre game, primarily because it's a Spectrum port, but there are also no power-ups, and the sound effects are very poor. More information on CPCSOFTS 5
	Defender of the Crown (Ubi Soft, 1989) Travel back in time to England in 1149. The king has been assassinated, and the Saxons and the Normans are fighting it out to reclaim the throne. You play the part of one of four Saxon lords (hint: choose Sir Wolfric the Wild) and must fight the Norman lords (and the Saxon lords too if you want) and prevent them from gaining territory. The more territory you have, the more taxes you can collect from the peasants to build up your army – but all this fighting takes a heavy toll. You can also claim territory in jousting contests, and lay siege to your enemies' fortresses! This is a big game, and the graphics and animation have to be seen to be believed; they are simply breathtaking. Unfortunately, it's too difficult, as the Norman lords take control too quickly for you to do anything about them, and this is a real shame. More information on CPCSOFTS 8
	Defenders of the Earth (Enigma Variations, 1990) Ming the Merciless has kidnapped the Defenders' children and is holding them in the Fortress of Evil. You control Flash Gordon as he fights his way through three levels of the castle, shooting and jumping over monsters, and facing some pretty mean end-of-level guardians before encountering Ming himself. Your colleagues are also able to help you, by opening locked doors or creating bridges which will allow you to cross chasms. There are also a few energy icons which can be collected. The graphics are marvellous, but the music on the menu is unremarkable. However, the biggest problem is that the game is very tough indeed; completing the first level is a real feat, even with the four lives that you are given. More information on CPCSOFTS 6
	Defend or Die (Alligata, 1985) Reviewed by Pug Defender on the CPC. Unless you've lived on Mars for the last 30 years, there's no need to explain how this game works. Alligata's version is very neat indeed. The graphics move smoothly and are colourful. The sound effects are very imaginative but there's no music – no worries, though, as the arcade original didn't have any music either! The difficulty level is set just right to allow progression and very high scores! More information on CPCSOFTS 8

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