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Games and Internet
PLAYSTATION MTV Snowboarding (THQ) £29.99 9 t i *
Hurrah, it's snowboarding season again! Time for a glut of plank-riding titles, led by THQ bringing us MTV bringing us snowboarding. MTV Snowboarding IS the usual affair, With practice and championship modes available for shOWing off your toppestmost tricks and stunts. By relying on the same old formula, this is actually qUite an enjoyable piece of snowb0und tomfoolery. The graphics are nice, if not astonishing, and the tracks are challenging and varied. The championship IS also a rather hefty proposition, reqUiring a good hour or so to complete,
As you might imagine from a game With MTV in the title, the sOundtrack is unrivalled, featuring the likes of Ministry and Fear Factory. Unfortunately, nothing about MTV Snowboarding is unique and, as such, it’s only worth buying if you own no other snowboarding games or are mad-mental-crazy about boarding.
Please, someone make a snowboarding game where yOu have the freedom of an entire mountain, Without the annoyance of bumping into unrealistic barriers or irritatineg huge snow banks. Even some powder boarding w0uld be welcome. Until then, we are stuck With MTV Snowboarding and the rest (ID)
Medal Of Honor (Electronic Arts) £29.99 it ii- 9 4:
It has been a little surprising that, after the huge success of Goldeneye on the N64, no one has tried to copy it on the PlayStation. Thankfully, Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks know a Winning combination when they see one and are not scared to rip it off mercilessly. Medal Of Honor is Goldeneye during World War II — the war that, according to the opening Video sequence, America won on behalf of Europe,
Landing behind enemy lines, you take
96 THE lIST 20 Jan—3 Feb 2000
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DREAMCAST
Virtua Striker 2 (Sega) £39.99 A at ii it
When Virtua Striker first appeared in the arcades. it caused an explosion of delight. Never before had football fans been in control of such deliciously chunky players, running around realistically in massive arenas, scoring rip-roaring net-busters — and all in three dimensions. Crowds made up of hardcore gamers and beginners alike would spring up wherever a cabinet appeared. Suddenly, classics like Sensible Soccer looked very, very old indeed. Now, the follow up makes an appearance on the Dreamcast.
And it is beyond difficult. Such is the accuracy of the transfer to Sega's console that all the
limitations of a quick play arcade game have also been reproduced. Despite the fact that all football games now feature a sprint button (though not always successfully), Virtua Striker 2 has no such ability to change speed. There are no fast breaks from defence, no galloping wingers and no last gasp covering tackles. It is quite surprising just how much things change when one simple function is missing. The result is a game which, though still very playable, feels slow and plodding, control being rather muted. Like playing with
oven gloves on.
That said, Virtua Striker 2 looks better than any footie title you have ever seen. The level of detail, with each wiggle of the joypad producing tons of little flicks and
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Shooting stars: Virtua Striker 2
tricks, is quite breathtaking. The players are solid, move realistically and give the impression that they are actually interacting with both the environment and each other. Often, in other games, there is a sneaking suspicion that players are skating across the pitch. That simply doesn't happen here. There are a variety of game modes to explore, and the facility to save and compare goals, all rated by the computer, adds that spark of imaginative detail.
Virtua Striker 2 plays so differently from any other
football title that it can be infuriating in the extreme.
(Iain Davidson)
However, if you have the ability to alter your perceptions, it is a gloriously beautiful experience.
on the might of the NaZI war machine single-handedly. There are plans to recover, bombs to set and many, many squareheads to Wipe Out. As a first- person shooter, this is probably second only to Quake 2 for effectiveness.
The glib, Hollywood idea of World War II is recreated faithfully and is warmly familiar, immediately making you feel at home, The PlayStation struggles to compete With the N64’s graphics, but ultimately does a manful jOb, only really suffering from a close draWing distance. Medal Of Honor is one of the tightest pieces of
War games: Codename Eagle
programming you are likely to see, presented in a gloriously sharp style. If only it sported a little originality, it would be a must-have. (ID)
PLAYSTATION/PC
Music 2000/Skip To My Loops
(Sony/Dancesoft) £24.99/EI999
*ifik/wik
These two pieces of music creation software are almost identical. Choose a handful of drum tracks, basslines, riffs and samples, fit them together With an easy-to-use interface, and sit back to enjoy your kickin' toon.
Of the two, Music 2000 has the friendliest feel, With everything jUSi a button click away. It has a huge selection of sound files to choose from, all helpfully collected into groups like techno, drum 8r bass and even rock There is also a simple yet effective Video editor, allowmg you to attach Visuals to yOur aural genius
Skip To My Loops has stacks more technical attributes, pretending to be a professional piece of kit. However, this makes it harder for the beginner to get into than Music 2000, while anyone With experience of MIDI seguencing, sampling or Dng Will immediately become frustrated at Skip To My Loops' inadequaCies. Considering that professional editing software, Qbase
for example, costs upward of £800, Skip To My Loops seems like outstanding value It also pomts out how basic Skip To My Loops is. These are nothing but pomtless pieces of breakbeat fun, With Music 2000 being that little bit slicker. (ID)
PC Codename Eagle (Take 2) £29.99 1% t t *
Codename Eagle is an intriguineg unique title, as yOu may expect from producer Take 2. Set in some weird timewarp universe, it IS essentially a World War II first-person shooter. However, it also involves a good deal of sneaking, a little subterfuge and much truck-driVing and plane-piloting. Indeed, everything The Dirty Dozen Or Kelly’s Heroes were asked to do It looks clean and crisp, presenting a look similar to a Commando comic, With the realism of Hidden And Dangerous, accurately capturing the silly/serious nature of the plot,
MiSSion after misSion unfolds as you battle the bad guys, destrOying their supply lines, stealing plans and generally becoming a one-man nUisance. The mix of gameplay can be a little confusing at times, the mlSSlOr'i orders often unhelpful, but the rewards normally outweigh the problems,