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Games and Internet
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PLAYSTATION International Track And
Field 2 (Konaml) 7'. 7'( 9.
Some rdeas are trmeless Adventurrng, shootrng, drrvrng and krckrng a football have all been favourrtes of computer games Srhce day one. Then there are those Ideas that have not stood the test of trme. Shoot-em-ups have all but gone, maze games are unheard of and the Irkes of Hyper Sports button bashers have been consrgned to the dustbrn. Or have they?
/nternatrona/ Track And Field 2 rs a return to that frnger-numbrng experrence. Through events such as Javelrn, Hammer-Toss, Cycling, Swrmmrng and Canoerng, zaryrng combrnatrons of Joypad buttons must be hammered relentlessly to achreve the best trme, drstance and herght. And that's ab0ut rt.
Subtletres and nuances are non- exrstent and the only thrng that has changed Srnce I984 are the graphrcs. It looks rnfrnrtely better, yet a rovrng camera makes events like the Long Jump more drffrcult than they should be. Not to mention that a PlayStatron pad rs not deSrgned for the krnd of punrshment a Spectrum’s rubber keyboard c0uldn’t handle. Best played :r1a large group Wrth much alcohol and nrbbles, Internat/ona/ Track And Held 2 proves that, sadly, not everythrng rs meant to last. (IDI
Army Men 30 (390) £29.99
Every man, whatever hrs age, wrll forever have a corner of hrs heart dedrcated to hrs Elrte Guard, those favourrte toy soldrers of chrldhood tavho, no matter the odds, walked unscathed from battle, therr plastrc heads held high. It rs part of what makes a man what he rs today.
So rt comes as a parhful stab rn the back that 300 have taken these khakr
104 THE “ST 2—16 ":73 2000
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PLAYSTATION REVIEW Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
(Capcom) £34.99 = «x—
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis worried many. Could zombie-avoidance be stretched into a third title? Would it be able to hold our attention? ls more of the same actually less of the same? Luckily, survival horror survives a little longer.
Nemesis is set a month after Res 2. You play Jill Valentine, one of the sole surviving members of the infamous S.T.A.R.S. team from game one. Raccoon City has fallen into chaos, with the undead controlling the streets and the remnants of humanity fighting for survival. Your
task is to guide Jill out of the city. Obviously, this is no easy task and soon she is involved with a Rescue Squad of mercenaries, a very large monster who has a taste for S.T.A.R.S. and an ever-growing arsenal of destructive weaponry. There are puzzles aplenty to solve, mainly of the locked door/find key style, and the game rattles
along at a ferocious pace.
Resident Evil veterans will need no help with this game. It plays in an identical fashion to its predecessors, looks very much like them and has their linear storyline. The differences, though welcome, are superficial. As Nemesis is set in the whole of Raccoon City, the backgrounds are wider, more detailed and portray the
crumbling city very effectively.
Pure Evil: Nemesis
own combinations of gunpowder and lead, from handgun bullets to flame grenades, and added action scenes demand fast reactions and quick thinking to survive. However, this is all cream. The meat of the game is the same, running back and forward through an ever-widening collection of areas, shooting or avoiding
the bad guys and learning a little more about your
predicament at every turn.
And yet, it is still addictive. The urge to peak round the next corner and the hunger for the next scare combine to drag you forcibly through the game. The consistent world and tight story direction are a joy and Nemesis has more than enough power to have you on the edge
of your seat for a few hours. (Iain Davidson)
A new ammo feature gives the freedom to create your
Iegrons of legend and murdered them by computer game. Army Men 30 :s a thrrd person combat game, rmagrne Commando rh three drmensrons, where you gurde Sarge deep rnto enemy terrrtory to krck some polycarbonate butt The gamers des;gneo‘ to be a sneaky, belly crawling, grenade Iobbrng Green Beret rard
However, why bother when yOu can run strarght through each level, dodgrng bullets wrth ease, only comrng to a halt at the
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occasronal mrnefreld. Were you so rnclrned, yOu cOuld drrve tanks and Jeeps, vreld flame throwers and bazookas, or pound the enemy wrth mortar shells But agarh, why bother rt’ you don't have to7 Thrs rs rIl-concerved, unrmagrnatrve, playtested by chrmps and looks worse than any MegaDrrve game. Napalm rs too good for rt. rID'r
DREAM CAST
Crazy Tax:
(Sega) £39.99 ‘r at :r
Arcade conversrons often court drsappomtment. If the graphrcs are no: aCCurate, fans of the orrgrnal wrll ‘ sneer whrle new players may be put off by gameplay
.' punchy. On the first COLrnt, . CraZy Taxi rs perfectly l; reproduced from the cabrnet VelSIOfl The crty of San FranCISCO, mth rts busy traifrc, hrlls and deathwrsh pedestrrans, rs beautrr’ully recreated and wrll rmpress the hardest to please graphrc- Junkres. Strangely, the gamepiay hasn’t really been touched erther, and though desrgned to Suck cornage from your pocket, rt works well on the Dreamcast The constant panrc to prck up, then delrver yOur fares rs horrrbly
Pr... addlctwe and urll have yOU
back rn yOur yellow motor more often than you wrll admrt to The cars are a toy to drrve, the constant shoutrng of your passengers keeps the adrenalrne flowrng and the Crty rs large enOugh to constantly challenge and surprrse.
Played rn a group, CraZy Taxr really shows rts class wrth much Jprad passIng and name callrng .‘rllrng the evenrhg Don’t be put off by the arcade convererh strgma, Crazy Taxr rs as much frahtrc fun yOu can. have wrth a console. rID‘
PC Planescape: Torment (Interplay) £29.99 it a 9.-
Torment s the latest Role Playrhg Game from Black Isle, the producers who brought us Bar’dur’s Gate As those who played rt can testrr’y, Baldur’s Gate was frve CDs worth of unadulterated pleasure, grvrhg Torment somethrng to Irve up to and, to be far, rt has done a wonderful JOb
Garhrng conscrOusness on a mortuary s.ab rn what seems lrke hell, your amnesrac character must be gurded pack to hrs Irfe, krnd of Thrs rs an rmmehsely complicated, yet deeply :m'olvrng game whrch surprrses and amuses as often as at drsguStS and lTOI‘TIlreS The world of Planescape rs beautrfully rendered, the characters are packed wrth humour and rhtellrgence, and every twrst of the plot shows a wealth of .magrnatron