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Games and Internet
PLAYSTATION UEFA Champions
League (EldOS) £34.99 x ‘t ,4:
Oh dearie, dearie me With the world's premier football club championship rapidly coming to a glorious climax, it is quite understandable that a Champions League title should hit Our shelves What a shame then that it does not live up to the spectacle of the real thing UEFA Champions League Season 7999/2000, to give it its full title, is a hotchpotch of adequate programming put together in a haphazard manner
On the superficial level it looks well nasty The players are large, lumbering figures, while the control has none of the finesse of ISS or even FIFA. It is also ridiculously easy, presenting those who have fought to master /SS Pro Evolution with a game of shooty-in Yet, inexplicably, all the problems combine to give the game a certain something that makes yOu enjoy playing this more than yOLl should Perhaps it's the familiarity of all the teams or the ease with which a shot can bulge the net, but UEFA Champions League does have a naive appeal llain DdVldSOlll
Theme Park World (Bullfrog) £34.99 .- i Everyone guffawed at the Wright Brothers when they said they c0uld fly. lvlany sniggered at JFK when he said man would walk On the moon However, those peals of laughter seem minusciule next to the riotous hilarity that met Bullfrog's statement that it
106 THE LIST 2/ A:;'-- ~ so:
PLAYSTATION Tiger Woods' PGA Tour
2000 (Electronic Arts) £34.99 tr xi: e
What in blue blazes has happened to golf on the computer? Sure, we’ve recently had the splendid Mario Golf but that has been it. In the good old days of the Sega Megadrive, anyone who sampled the delights of PGA Tour immediately fell under its wicked spell. Hour after hour, day after day was wasted, fighting the four rounds at Sawgrass to improve that all important Total Earnings column. Since then virtual golf has most definitely gone downhill (to a split- level green guarded by two sandtraps on the right and a water feature at the back).
Thankfully professional golfer, media babe and saviour of the world Tiger Woods is here to give golf a welcome shot in the arm. Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour 2000 is, on the whole, exactly what you would imagine a golf title to be. A huge selection of games, from strokeplay to skins, an impressive selection of courses, all from the PGA Tour, and a reasonable choice of golfers to control. Then it's onto the first green and away you go.
This, unfortunately, is where a lot of people will be disappointed. Although each hole is represented in gloriously detailed 3D, the surrounding landscape is non-existent. Hit past the trees that line each course and your ball lands on a flat, featureless, green plain
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A huge selection of games but a flat surrounding landscape
and is often called out of bounds. This is obviously the payoff for having the PlayStation concentrate on the current hole, but it ruins the feeling of tackling a golf course, robbing it of any character. The player animation utilises motion-capture technology and though the golfing avatars do look like their real-life counterparts, it's all a bit grainy and clumsy. Sometimes less really is more.
Problems aside, Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour 2000 is the best PlayStation golf game out there, offering a huge amount of options and as much lastability as you could wish for. If you found Mario Golfa little childish this should suit you to a tee. (lain Davidson)
You‘re living in Disneyland if youadon’t give this
was transferring the complex strategy of Theme Park World from the mighty PC to the humble PlayStation Yet, he who laughs last Theme Park World is a toy on the little grey box It runs withOut a hitch, while losing none of the myriad options available on the PC Indeed, sOme of the menus work better through a Joypad, vvith every option accessible within a few button clicks Graphically it is impressive, with the cheesy, feel-good look transferred wholesale and yOur smug assistant, although abridged, still has the ability to grate incessantly The screaming, giggling, vomiting children are endearing and the pleasure of researching and bUlldlng a new ride is without edual This truly is a marvel of ludlcious memory use and creates a unique experience on the PlayStation Strategy fan or no, you're llvmg in Disneyland if you don't give this a go (lain Dayldsenl
go
F1 2000 (Electronic Arts) £34.99
Exactly how many Formula One games have the OffiCial FlA seal
of approval? F7 2000 from EA brandishes Just such a pedigree, featuring the entire Formula One rota of drivers and teams for the current season. Unfortunately most Formula One games are, by the nature of the sport they simulate, very similar beasts. AsSuming that the programmers have done their rob, the Circuits are all the same, the cars are all the same and any differentiation between titles lies in the minute detail.
Well, the EA boys have certainly done their JOb. Everything rur‘s smoothly and each track bears more than a passing resemblance to its real-life c0unterpart. Drivmg is precise and enjoyable, with a choice of assists available to gently wean in the not/ice driver. Small details, like the pits constantly updating you on events around the track or chunks of fil’)rc-_>glass spiralling into the air when cars meet, are admirable and successfully draw you into the races. However, ignOie the details and F7 2000 is identical to nearly every other Formula One game out there. lt does nothing wrong, but then again does nothing new ilain DaVldsonl
PC AND PLAYSTATlON
Rollcage Stage II (Take 2) £29.99 ; .- .1
When Rollcage first appeared it was hounded merCilessly for being essentially a wheeled version of its sister title Wipe0ut. So what did developers Psygnosls do with all this crlt:Cism when dCSIgnlng Ro/Ic'age Stage //.7 They deCided that what people actually want is a game that feels even more like Wipeout than before
Still, there can be few better role models. ROI/cage Stage // is faster, crisper and more user-friendly than its predecessor. The tracks are gloriously designed, if very simple to begin with, and the whole experience is much more fluid than before There are a large number of gaming modes to explore, from the Simple ClaSSlc. Racing to the enjoyable points-fest of Total Racing. Scramble is also worth. a mention, placing yotlr vehicle on a fai'cjically narrow track and asking you to go from start to finish in the ciciicikest possible time. Gentle, relaxing enjoyment it ain’t Rollcage Stage // offers a much more engaging experience this time round, and though it still smacks of a cheap Wipeout, is worth a good few hours blasting round the r' clic'tilotis tracks ilaln D(l\ll(l8()l“