A - Long Term Shelf Life
B - Deserves Another Play
C - Once Should Suffice

FORMULA ONE 2001

As up to date as it can get, this officially licensed FIA Formula One Championship game gives you short bursts of Arcade action or the big mama of a full Championship. Choose any one of two drivers from a dozen teams each and take on the world's best, hitting all the tracks and speeding towards world champ status. The cars stick to the road like glue and brakes don't play around - no rally-style corner sliding here. If you configure your vehicle correctly for the conditions, you have that much more of a chance in letting Schumacher (both of them!) bite your dust. Setting your tyre type & pressure, shocks, front & back wings will prove essential - all the necessities to make your car zip that extra bit (or messing up your handling, causing unnecessary prangs). The damage results are jacked up a little more, but when I tried to destroy my car, only the gears slipped a couple of times, the impact not sending the wheels or fins flying. [This was in the Arcade mode, so maybe I'll try that in a new Championship in stead of the one I'm pushing through]. Instant Replays have new features like rewind and slow-motion while the two best known voices in F1, Murray Walker and Martin Brundle comment on your moves (and disasters). In the cockpit view you really need to know your stuff as you're flat on the road with visibility quite restrictive. Serious F1 fans can really immerse themselves in this all out experience.

4 / B
- PB

(c-12) Final Resistance

As far as action/adventure games go, this one stands up pretty good. It's somewhere between a Resident Evil (with less detail & chills) and a platformer as you roam a 3D rubbled city dealing with nasty aliens bent on taking over our planet. A cool little addition to the shooting, running, climbing, explosions and clue solving is your sniper view which is pretty accurate, while a built in laser sight (where your eye used to be) leaves a red beamed dot wherever your head is turned (at the start of the game I thought the red beam jutting from the character's face was some freaky Pinocchio nose - but soon discovered its purposeful advantages once the creatures started their onslaught!) With a certain amount of problem solving and a tough terrain to cover, C-12 could keep you busy for a while.

3 / B
- PB

POINT BLANK 3

If you still don't own any of the Point Blank games, get this one. Drs Don & Dan are back with another totally crazy collection of shooting galleries, which include takes on previous favourite target set-ups as well as a whole bunch of new, never before seen shootout scenes. It’s not only a “shoot the target of your colour” scenario either, as puzzle shots, target matching, single skill shots and insane rapid fire mayhem will drive you up the wall with delectation. As usual, the game’s real potential lies in its G-Con45 light gun peripheral’s advantage over the conventional PS control. Party Mode gets a crowd into the swing of things while the endurance and versus modes add more dimension to a rootin’ tootin’ shootin’ time.

5 / A
- PB

THE LEGEND OF DRAGOON

With a mass totalling 4 discs, this Final Fantasy style game has a vast medieval fantasy world of legends, dragons and evil threats to explore, solve and triumph over. Your village has been setroyed and your mission begins. Slowly and systematically the intricate tale unfolds as you’re taught battle skills and other ways to utilize your powers. You meet up with friend and bad guys as (slightly moored) action and beautifully pre-rendered scenes spice up the (at times long winded) progression of the gameplay - Enter the keepers of patience and guardians of tolerance…

3 / C
- PB

THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE

It goes without saying that whatever Disney animated feature they churn out, it is bound to get a PlayStation tie-in title. No wonder then that this slap-hip (slapstick / hip) flick followed suit. The movie is very much like Hercules in its modern attitudes and annoyances set in a time long past, but the game is a more free roaming platformer than the Herc PS title. Our idiot turned Lama runs around getting up to all sorts of crap, some more silly, others less funny. Cool for the kids but serious gamers might pass this one up.

3 / B
- PB

FINAL FANTASY IX

Usually when movies hit a high sequel count like this, it is expected that the quality will be crappy-crap on all levels and then some. Not necessarily so with games. Final Fantasy fans are fans without reservation and love the games for the game's sake, in love with its imagery, gaming style, protracted storylines... This installment won't disappoint these disciples while those new to the series may need to start further back from the more primitive days to fully appreciate its evolution.

4 / C
- PB

CRASH BASH

This highly entertaining longlife character has spawned three amazing play-anytime games that gave the platform adventure a total face-lift. This spin-off is hardly as in-depth and multi-layered as it predecessors, but fun nonetheless. Here you team up with a choice of other Crash characters (friend and foe), having face-offs in an assortment of arenas with speed of execution its essence. Basically you chuck boxes at the other guys as well as bombs, or collect power-ups to gain an advantage over the other team. The time limit makes it more crucial to pound the other punks. Your colourful levels include all the Crash Bandicoot styled terrain from icy to forest, while the rest of the segments do transcend the basic free-for-all as mentioned before. Puzzle related scenarios also make it a bit more hectic. Whereas the Crash games were always a one-man affair, now you can get a bunch of pals in on the franchise with this games multi-player opportunities.

3 / B
- PB

TIME CRISIS Project Titan

The basics: Nail the bad guys! This arcade favourite shoot 'em up translates well to the PlayStation format - especially if you're in possession of the all too necessary sidearm known as the G-Con45. All you need is your aim and one hell of a snappy trigger finger. You don't need to run, jump or anything like that. You're taken through the variety of levels that get damn tough (from yachts to airports). You're automatically hidden behind cover (be it a table, doorframe, container). Your G-Con's front buttons allow you to pop out blazing and as you've cleared the designated amount of enemies, you're progressed further into the area you're sorting out with force. It's no picnic with the time-limit and your villainous targets not always static, firing hand guns, machine guns, lobbing granades...! Single levels can be tackled or you can go the long stretch with a mission. A whole lot of fun that throws you right in the action. Now get stuck in!

4 / A
- PB

TOM and JERRY in HOUSE TRAP

Often shadowed by the classic Warner and Disney characters, these old adversaries had some great moments of ludicrous rivalry. You can now relive this mayhem by picking your favourite of the two and go up against a friend, nailing each other with everything from vacuum cleaners to cakes! Be prepared to climb into your childhood character when you flash back with this fun-filled slice of silliness.

3 / B
-PB

WOODY WOODPECKER RACING

It seems as though every old toon (or even new ones) seem to go for the go-kart option. Is it becasue it's a safe option for success or can't these guys come up with something fresh? Is there a design template available with an "insert character here" button? OK, maybe it's not that bad, but you know what I'm talking about. Which brings us to Woody. Whatever happened to the cackling peckerwood? - sorry, woodpecker. Well, evidently he has a PlayStation game seeing as he won't be starring in any new cartoons. If you're a race fan and don't mind more of the same with an altered look - go right ahead.

3 / C
- PB

DRIVER 2

I've never had the pleasure of experiencing the original Driver game, but reports were always favourable. If in fact it was on a par with this sequel, I'm sure it was one hell of a thrill. Driver 2 takes the racing game element a cinematic step further. This is not only the case with the smooth, realistic animation of special agents having shoot-outs with scum in sleazy bars or checking bodies in morgues, it's encapsulated in the narrative of the gameplay. Your main geography in this narrative is set in Chicago, Havana, Vegas and Rio. Cars range from Mustang muscle monsters to finned Ford Fairlaine growlers, even trucks, busses or firetrucks (in the Undercover mode you can switch cars to fulfil your objectives). The varied handling takes a bit of getting used to. You get to pursue assailants or be the one on the run. The Undercover segment (linked like a violent noir flick) has you rushing across town (the map indispensable), meet up with your partner and get to a witness, setting bombs, infiltrate the mob ranks - all with time limits. Crushing a global crime syndicate will depend on your driving skills. Every little crash counts against you, not only in car damage, but time loss - ultimately leading to an unglamourous forfeit - you don't want that, do ya? Take A Ride gives you pretty much a free reign to either dodge traffic or go haywire. The Driving Games give you wide options like Trailblazer, Quick Chase or Getaway, Gate Racing and Survival. Multiplayer's main party modes include Cops 'n Robbers and Flag Capture. If you thought it looked easy to lose cops tailing you, there's a rude awakening hiding in this little number. Spanning over two discs, the Undercover section is where it's at.

5 / B
- PB