Games
ChOOSing one of the four races allows contrOI of up to six ships with which to wreak ViOlence in the vaCUum. And the best thing is that thiS c0mbat is not pOrtrayed from the bridge but. thanks to multiple Vieprints. from deep space.
It :s not easy though. Controlling one ship is bad enough, six makes for a rather torrid hour Or so of gameplay. But persevere and a fantastically involvmg and tactically challenging game shines through. Trekkie or no. Dominion Wars COUld just be that space combat Slm you are looking for.
PC ANACHRONIX (599.???9'99 ”'____
Role Playing games have been a little thin on the ground since the genre defining Baldur's Gate and Drab/o 2 hit the shelves. Well, in an attempt to disguise itself Anac/ironix has forgone the fantasy setting. instead opting for far- flung planets and futuristic enVirons.
For the most part this has worked very well and the alien cities are a joy to explore. Linearity is the name of the game here and a developing st0ry about the end of the universe draws yOur sorry band of adventurers from puzzle to combat to puzzle With little subtlety. Combat is turn-based and spectaCular and. to distract the eye further. there are many beautiful graphic details and interesting characters to enjoy.
But at its heart Anachroni'x is a run-Of- the-mill RPG and will disappoint all those looking for something new. (lain Davidson)
ALSO RELEASED Gran Turismo 3 (P82 Sony £44.99) The King of the racers is back. Jurassic Park 3 (PC VUIP $229.99) More Cretaceous capers. Battle Of Britain (PC Just Flight $29.99) All be over by Christmas. Max Payne (PC Take2 £29.99) Move over Duke Nukem.
City Crisis (PS2 Take2 $39.99) Just in time fOr the Festival.
Internet
internet@list.co.uk
I HAVE MOVED
www.ihavemoved.com
Even; now and again a website Crops up that manages to use the internet to its full capabilities. Simple idea really — you're moving house and need to let various companies Organisations know yOur new address. A laborious task to say the least. but in the time it takes to fill out a series Of forms. this will let everyone know — from gas company to yOur old university. (A88uming you want them to known.
SETI@HOME setiathome.ssl .berkeley.edu The search for ET continues. When someone realised that there were too many stars for one big computer to analyse for intelligent life. someone else thought about using lots of smaller computers in parallel to do the same thing. With a small download you can donate some of yOur vacant computer time to scan distant galaxies — you needn't do a thing as it harnesses the power of your PC when you're not using it and repOrts back automatically. Obviously just for those with bandwidth to burn.
SHOPSMART
uk.shopsmart.com
It pays to shop around: it just takes a bit of time. But this site will do it all fOr yOu. comparing prices with shops on its vast database and letting you know the cheapest option. It also informs you of any delivery charges and the time it takes to get an order to you. CD prices alone can differ by as much as a fiver. Some might argue that it takes the fun out of shopping, but I don't.
108 THE LIST 19 Jul-2 Aug 200i
Multlmap Is an invaluable street map of Britain
C MULTIMAP
www.multimap.com Th s :s a site that :s worth keeping in yOur favOurites as it CCLlid prove invaluable to yOu. Basically. a street map of Britain (and to sOme degree. the world completely searCnable by post code or by zooming in On the map. Recently they have added full colOur satellite photos of major UK towns going one better than Microsoft‘s Terraserver site (wwwterraservercom).
THE BARTERED RIDE
www.barteredride .co.uk
Fancy a free taXi ride? Now Glaswegians can take advantage of such an offer Within the city limits. Well not quite a free ride as yOu must perform something in return in the back of the cab: Sing a song, tell a joke. open heart surgery or whatever. Performances will be filmed and possibly used on a BBC2 dOCumentary. Some mOVies are featured here and keep an eye on the giant screen in Buchanan Street where some more clips will be shown. It a sponsor is found to supply the sound there will be a one-off showing of all the performances. What a weird concept.
FILM.COM
www.film.com
The summer season is theoretically here and most of the summer blockbusters are out. Keep up to date With them here and download the trailers (sometimes a choice of trailers for the same film). It's an American site so it's a good few weeks ahead of us. There are also exclusive interviews with filmmakers and the stars. Pass the popcorn. (Steve Blair)
video@list.co.uk
BEAZUTIFUL
CREATURES (15) 85 mins 00
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This Glasgowset cr-me caper frcm Scottish miter-producer teaii‘ Simon Donald [The Li‘e Of Stuff; and Andrew Machnald (Shallow Grave) is a strictly by-the- numbers affair. Check list: two gorgeOus girls (Rachel Weisz and Susan Lynch), a violent bozgfriehd (lain Gleni, a violent gangster (Maurice RoeveSl and a violent bent copper iAlex Nononl, a bag of cash and a fluffy dog. You can put the pieces together yourself. and if you do you'll have done a better job than the makers of this flashy trash. Hard to tell what's worse. the meSSy plotting Or the unpleasant misogynistic streak. Good cast though. (Universal VHS rental) llvliles Fielder)
CRIME DRAMA TRAFFIC (18) 147 mins 0...
E ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE (U) 91 mins 00
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DRAMA BLACKBOARDS (PG) 82 mins .00
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At the Oscars ceremony this year, Steven Soderbergh had two films contending for honours. And while he must have been deeply proud when Julia Roberts gurgled her acceptance speech for best actress in Erin Brokovich, it was interesting to note that he had taken his seat for the night among the Traffic crew. Was he making his own personal movie preference, or had it merely been a
toss of the coin job?
Whatever, Traffic is undoubtedly the more ambitious film, daring, gut-wrenching and altogether more satisfying. Based on the British TV series which starred Bill Forsyth and Lindsay Duncan, Soderbergh’s tale goes for a bolder, brighter assault on both the demons of drugs themselves and the methods which law enforcers use to catch the dealers. Using seemingly unconnected but eventually interwoven tales of American and Mexican drug barons, government tzars and users, Soderbergh muddies the moral waters by throwing in bent cops and a senior government figure's junkie daughter into an already deadly cocktail. His message is that we're all involved in
this mass black economy.
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aovnxce BOUNCE (12) 102 mins 00.
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As with Roberts in Erin Brokovich, one of Soderbergh’s key triumphs is to get an awesome performance out of an averager talented star, here Catherine Zeta Jones delivering a career best for her transformation from meek missus of a wealthy businessman done for serious trafficking to hard-nosed controller of fates. The bets are now on for the next duff actress to receive a call from Mr Soderbergh. (Brian Donaldson)
I Availab/e On VHS and DVD rental from Enterta/nment from Men 23 Jul.