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PLAYSTATION
Rally Championship (Electronic Arts) £34.99
V/hy do the rnajorrty of game de\./elopers, sensrble people mostly, suddenly take niassrve ‘lakres \.‘.rhett they make a rally rac rng game7 The constant-y chanted mantra of 'garnep:ay, garneplay, gameplay' rs rnstanty forgotte'r .n a rnad frt o‘ po\.verslrdrng nonsense
Elec trorrrc Arts' Rally Clra/rrprorrsr‘rrp rs the perfect example It looks great, Wrth flyrng mud, drrftrng snowflakes and rattling gravel all grac :rrg some carefully constructed tracks Cars are plentrful, \.vrth all the marn contenders present rr‘. attractrve lavery and var'rable features There are whooprng crowds, chrrprng brrds and sOme fantastrc engrne bangs to frll the forest arr vvrth that authentrc ambrence
And yet, all thrs rs soon forgotten as you fight frantrcally WIIIt a car that srmply won't stay out of the trees Gently cur‘vrng tarmac roads seem Irke sheet rte as your car, no matter what rts speed, skates merc rIe'sst from prllar to post As any dr'rver can verify, throwmg a car rnto a slrde rs not easy Yet here, It rs vrrtually rrnpossrble to stop
The degree of skril r‘egurr'ed to get the most out of Rally (lramprorrsr’rrp rs way beyond most players, whrt h rs a shame as everythrng else rs sIrc k and well presented For rally drehards only rlDr
Thrasher: Skate And
Destroy
(Rockstar Games) £34.99
The matorrty of complarnts (ontetrtrng skateboardrng games come from skaters themselves Apparently, and only skaters can Judge thrs, no game
102 THE “ST ‘lEen- 3 11a: 200C
PLAYSTATION REVIEW
Gran Turismo 2 (Sony) £29.99
For those that have been waiting for what seems like millennia, this is zero hour. Gran Turismo 2, the follow-up to Polyphony Digital's monumental racer, has finally hit the streets. However, before we go any further please read the following statement: Go and buy GT2!
Now that’s out of the way, we can now wallow luxuriously in the mellow genius that is Gran Turismo 2. Every single fibre of the PlayStation is stretched to breaking point to produce the quickest, most detailed piece of software we will ever see on the grey box.
For the first few hours of play,
those who mastered the original game will immediately feel at home. You buy a car, you race the car, you win money, you upgrade the car, you win more races, and so it goes on. A few more hours down the line though, and things begin to look slightly different. No longer can you just build the fastest car to win all the races. Each of the countless events has a horsepower restriction forcing you to own, and become expert with, a wide variety of motors. Although not revolutionising the gameplay, this twist provides a fresh challenge to the veteran who wants to win everything.
And completing the game will take a very long time. There are now five driving certificates to achieve,
“F
Better than sex: Gran Turismo 2
involving 60 tests. The vehicle count now numbers over 500, including many of the finest motorcar manufacturers in the world. Twenty new courses must be learned and, if that weren't enough, you now have the opportunity to take to the dirt track in a comprehensive rally championship.
Yet for all this detail, none of the sound, visuals or handling has suffered. The engines sound great, the speed and detail of the graphics take your breath away and, as in the original, driving is precise and responsive. Accolades will be heaped upon GT2 from now until Doomsday but the highest compliment you can pay it is to play it. Not even sex comes close. (lain Davidson)
has come ( lose to capturrng the thrrll and freedom of street skatrng And, as that rs how the marorrty of tr‘uc k- grrnders spend therr days, thrs seems Irke a valrd pornt
R()( kstar have trred to rec trfy thrs \vrth Skate And Destroy, endorsed by board mag lhrasher Essentrally, your vrrtual boarder rs placed rn an urban locatron,
Simple pleasures: Creatures Adventures
be rt sut)‘.'.'ay, par'k or \.*.'ar'el‘.ot.se, and left to pop as many trrc ks as poss be before the authorrtres arrrve to chase you on Ihrs lends an astonrshnrg amount of freedom ano, for those unfamrlrar \‘.'|iIl skatrng garnes, can be gurte rntrmrdatrng to i) >grn ".‘.'rttr
Strck wrth rt though, and krc krng 180s and r‘arl sirdes becomes rnstrnc trve, Ieavrng you free to piarr your route and attempt the r'r(II( ulous Not groundbreakrng an the visua: department, Skate And Destroy .re res on rts speed and open-ended gameplay for appeal Somet rnes unfor‘grvrr‘rg, never du'l, th s trtle provrdes a r‘efresltrng alter" atr‘.re for those who have grown skate por‘eu rlDt
Tiny Tank (Sony) E35
Battle tanks those rumblrrrg, sputtering, behemoths of (:estruct on are not normally knoxx'n for therr cute and (U(l(liy natrrre Yet, thrs rs exat t'y the angle that developers Anunov; have taken. for therr nex'. combat PM
Not only rs lrrry Tank your xteapor: of
devastatrng (horce rr‘. over twenty taxrng rrrrssrorts, "re starids as a (()"‘:i( character ali nrs oxzr‘ Created by the mrlrtary to persuade the pabirc that war rs fun, he fronts therr soppy, soft advertrsements very, very reluc tantiy Thrs sense of humour per'r.'ades the game, and rather than rrrrtatrng,
at t.raliy errrtanc es tl‘e exper ent e The combat Itself s more 'arr—ot-flre 't‘rI‘ .‘.rtI‘- 'tru'rdlrrrg ar‘d shoot to to porr‘t A, blots. tt.p, tlre'r tor‘trr‘..e to pornt B', oerrrg as (orrrplrtated as it gets lhe'e are a d strat t;ons, ‘i..( i‘ the far‘rtt stzt 'n.'rr-‘.atrks that ta" be <()rrtr‘c)"etl and dexe oped as allred rn..".ro"rs, {)1li .‘ o'riy tI‘e rrnagrr‘a’aor: adled on tl‘e story had been spread rrrto the gar'replay (()t.!(l Ita.e fratl atratker ()l1()tll r‘anos As .°. lrrr, lam rs a ger‘..:r‘-ely arrrr.sr';g ta.- e or. the same old, same old Ira, for a ‘e.‘.
PC
Creatures Adventures (Mattel Interactive) £24.99 A'thoagh expir drug rrito a .'.orlr:.'.rde success and creatr'rg a “rage base o‘ (,"(wiihlt‘ breeders or: fine rret, tire l)’f“,:(}_l‘> trites strffered front ore tantrg, o'rce yo;. bet arrre aoro’ at
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llex'. ttle ('r‘tatu/es Adventures ' as ta<k'er: frvs py tftraf'tlt} a rr.r.rr r' we rrrterat turt- trti‘.rrrt)r:rrrtrrt’_ it We (N: dar‘geor‘s, tree rzouses, spoov forests and stear‘rq,r '-‘!I(I errs to e/p‘o'e, a.» ror‘ta mg tr‘e r osxn set of (' (1! enges Ur‘for‘..rrtate.,, tr‘ey t1a.e a med the gar'ie at a younger ardrer‘ce, til the target age-group berng for! to ter. years Not that trrrs rs neressarly a bad
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