Mean streets
The greatest console game ever? Henry Northmore checks out GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS.
he (ii-(mil 'I‘lirj/i Auto series has heeoiiie perhaps the hottest. sexiest
eonsole title ol' all time. helping reyolutionise the image of the P82.
Perhaps most importantly it is an adult game. Sure. the Daily .llur'l and suehlike haulked at the |;t\\'|csstiL‘ss it ‘glamorised‘ but it‘s addietiye and ereatiye. More than any title. live (in i'eeaptured quality gaming l‘rom the image ol‘ geeks holed tip in darkened rooms. and it heeame one of the l’layStatioii‘s flagship titles. a true atiihassadot‘. lts open ended. sprawling eity is a demonstration ol‘ what the maehine is eapahle of in the right hands. and Roekstat' sure knoyys what it‘s doing.
:\nd mm it‘s haek \\ ith the hype maehine in lull el‘l‘eet (or is that just the saliyating ol‘ the lei'xeiit laiis‘.’). .\'eyer has a game been so iiiimersiye. dragging you into the thug life. This is Hint'ii'I/ir' llrmrl. .\'\\'.-\. (‘u/mzr the interaetiye exiwi‘ienee. You take eontrol of (II as he‘s released from prison. and “hen I say take eontrol I mean it. getting tattoos. playing pool in bars. tagging. haireuts. elothes shopping and these are just the peripherals surrounding the l‘ull-on game story. Yoti eome to know and eare about this eharaeter. his lainin and friends more than any game eharaeter before. The distiiietion between games and moyies is erumhling: the ‘aeting' here is first rate. (‘.l lyoieed hy (‘hris Bellard AKA Young .\laylay) so human. the satne goes for the supporting east from lee T and Shaun Ryder to James Woods and (‘hi'is l’enii. Your inotiyatioiis \inI he elouded by your 'i'elationship‘ with them. \yantiiig ('.l to sueeeed heeause you genuinely like him.
The main game is huge. aeross eight distinet distriets ol‘ shooting. driying. ll_\ iiig. s\\ imming and tar. liar more. l’aeked \yith mini—games and the depth ol the largest R|’(i all wrapped iii aetion dynamies and a super powerful games engine. The attention to detail is so sliek and eomprehensiye that for onee you'll he asking yoursell' 'yyhat eaii't I do.” not ‘yyhat can I do'." liyeii the sotiiidtraek (you ean ehose \yhieh radio station to tune into) roeks like no game before it. Sure. it‘s \‘itiiL‘ltl as all hell and definitely deseryes its l8 eei‘tilieate. hut \\ hat did you expeet from (2711’ Belieye the hype: you haye neyer exik‘rieneed Video gaming at this leyel hel‘ore.
GTA: San Andreas (18) (Rockstar Games), P82, available now
Reviews
FABLE (Microsoft) 0000
tt. “‘.'.'hetl‘ie' rest‘tiiitti our eyentuat saxivui. Lill'ii)‘.‘:.’llttl hidden and dest'Litzti'Ja plots or getting their own hands hlood.. standing nose to nose. tooth to <;la*.‘. '.‘.ith the Armageddon threatening evil, game characters are never done changing their world for the good. But what of the heroes themselves? Sure. their armour may change. or that massive weapon may be swapped for an even more massive one. hut the character. and their appearance. never really alters. Until now that is. Until Fab/e.
For this is a more personalised adventure. While all the cliches of fantasy role—play are present. the meandering Journey of your hero is unigue. Each tWist in the road. each moral decision. is etched into the face of your ageing character. Take predominately eVil. selfish choices and you become gaunt. pale and. oh my. are those horns groWing from your forehead”? Choose the heneficent. saintly path and the goodly glow shines from your pure soul.
And this manifestation of yOur Journey also affects how the world reacts to you. Villages WI” cower in fear at yOur malevolence or how in awe of your valour. And
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PC EVIL GENIUS (Vivendi) 00.
It is spelled 'Mixvtiziliziliaha' and the enunciation must he perfected if you are to truly enjoy the delights of Evr/ Gen/us. For this is the game for the iriegaloiiianiac. the would—lie—world doiiiinator. the white catstroking menace who has learned that eVil laugh. Evr/ Geri/us roughly follows the same structure as Dungeon Keeper. where you must plan. build and manage a base of operations while deveIOping the means to achieve your nefarious schemes. Though it has shark- filled tank-fulls of Bond cliches and some
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WARS:
BATTLEFRONT (Activision) 0000
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lift/i; game!‘ l or lllitlt. it is the license that attracts, the first thing that catches the eye
Yet it would seem that the lllilisffl‘; of fill/j Bt'rtt/e/ro/tt have gr int- the other way. creating a solid. enioyahle and infectious game before attaching the Star Wars hit. And leaving the ohviotis hook Iintil last has paid dividends iii what is one of the finest 53W games on any system. This is essentially a iiiiiltiplayei combat game. with all the trappings of li‘, WWII counterparts. cloaked in the armour of the liiiperial Storiiitrooper. While the solo campaign is enjoyable. it is the online play which allows SW: Batt/efront to
tilt ssom. The levels are well designed. the combat is vicious and the only let down is Ill the deficiencies of console online gaming. But as is. 3W: Br’lfl/Uf/U/lf doesn't need its il',“:ll’,‘: to excite, llain Davidsoni
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www.whosaliveandwhosdead.com
Time to settle some put) arguments. Let '8 tele'es haxe hought the farm and who's still This is fr. no means a complete list out it's
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REFLECTOPORN
The tad of taking pictures of yourself into a reflective Object in a state of undre'. , is gathering pace and this sill/. rather that: saucy. collection of snaps s iows what can be dene when mute it st too so; fOr the Wide-angle le 3. Warning: contains some — kind of wobbly — ll'ldli/ www.perfecthuesky.com/reflecto/
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