Mini-Review
Crush Roller
NeoGeo Pocket Color	From: SNK

In Crush Roller, you're in command of a giant paintbrush whose task is to paint an entire maze that's patrolled by deceptively efficient, blobby monsters whose job it is to collide with you - all very PacMan, but it does have moments of genius. There are rollers here and there that you can slide along to crush the monsters, which then reincarnate in a stronger form. Also, if you dally, an Irkster starts to paddle about in your paint. You then have to catch him and repaint over his footprints. The whole game is bonkers Jap stuff at its best. Very arcadey it is too, but there are some nice longevity inducing features, such as being able to collect Irksters. There's also a two-player link duel mode where crushed monsters on your side plague your opponent. Quirky fun - buy it!

FG verdict

88%

Mini-Review
Neo Cherry Master Color
NeoGeo Pocket Color	From: SNK

Fruit machines must be fairly addictive. After all, thousands, nay millions, of people play them every day. There's just one drawback: they eat those little thick golden coins and tend to not give as many back. What better thing to have then than a free fruit machine? Enter the NeoGeo Pocket Color. You see, what we have here is a faithful fruit machine simulator that's very good at what it does. Sadly, the very advantage it has over its costly cousins also leaves it dead in the water - the one thing that makes fruit machines fun is missing - to whit, a shower of those same thick, golden coins from the payout slot. Also, fruit machines vary wildly across the globe. Japanese culture seems to favour wild chance rather than the illusions of control that we Brits like, with our feature trails and so on, and this game is very Japanese. So while Mr Okinawa will go off to work feeling buoyed up with his good fortune against lady-luck if he wins, Mr Smith will just say, "So what? Where's the feature hold?" and curse the day he bought this. Avoid.

FG verdict

15%

Stranded Kids / Gex: Deep Cover Gecko