Nice try, but it's the wrong sort of tackle
Rugby 2001 Windows 95/98 £34.99 The Creative Assembly/EA
Rugby games are rare, and this is the best since Codemasters published Rage's Jonah Lomu Rugby for Sony's PlayStation in April 1997.
Unfortunately, it isn't quite as much fun, partly because a PC keyboard is less suitable for this type of game than a console gamepad.
EA's Rugby 2001 scores in sound and graphics. At high resolutions, the PC graphics are very good, though the players are not particularly recognisable and the crowd has not been given much attention. The worst thing is the camera movement: the viewpoint swings around following the play in a way that almost makes you seasick. Not even changing the default view to sideline cam or isometric cam makes it behave.
The sound, however, includes an outstanding commentary from Bill McLaren and former England and New Zealand centre Jamie Salmon. If only soccer commentators were as frank and honest.
In most respects, Rugby 2001 is easy to play, and you can score fabulous solo tries, if you can just manage to pick up the ball. But as usual, the ruck and maul aspect of the game is nothing like as well handled as the kicking and passing. The Creative Assembly, based in Sussex, did the PC version of EA's Rugby World Cup 1995 then developed Australian Rugby League (ARL96), Australian Rules Football (AFL 98 and 99), and EA Sports' Cricket World Cup 99, before branch ing out with Shogun:Total War.
The market for minority sports sims is not very competitive, so Rugby 2001 should satisfy the fans.
However, it does not have the playability to satisfy a less committed audience. (JS)
Flash, bang, wallop, what a Pokémon!
Pokémon Snap Nintendo 64 £49.99 Nintendo
The Pokémon craze shows little sign of abating with Nintendo extending the franchise to the N64.
Following the gladiatorial battles of Stadium is Pokémon Snap - a very different take on the phenomenon. Rather than release a simple cash-in (like the Yellow Game Boy version), Nintendo has gone for a unique gaming experience.
The aim is simple: explore Pokémon Island and take photographs of all the inhabitants. Then, back in the lab, the photos are marked for pose and size, with rewards including new courses and goodies. Your vehicle is set on rails with no control over direction, but there is plenty to be getting on with.
Throw food to get that perfect "Pokémon at lunch" pose? Lob a pester ball and snuff out that hidden Bulbusaur? Or play the flute and take a high-scoring dancing picture? Strategy takes over surprisingly quickly and you'll need to use combinations of food, music and annoyance to get a successful album.
You can save your best snaps for posterity, but with only six courses and (criminally) only 63 out of 151 Pokémon involved, there are genuine longevity issues. While there is a real incentive to "snap 'em all", it is likely that the Game Boy will be bought out sooner than many parents would have hoped.
Still, while it lasts, Pokémon Snap is absorbing fun and it's a shame that it will be ignored by anyone aged over 10. Although it's too cutesy, the actual premise of the game is highly original and worthy of a wider audience. (GH)
Fun for those foul-mouthed gun fanatics
Team Buddies Sony PlayStation £29.99 Studio Camden/Sony
Guns are fun. That's the message of this game, in which the tranquil world of the Buddies is plunged into bloody chaos when Baddies introduce them to the joys of high-powered weaponry.
The Buddies are basically pills with legs; think the Homepride bloke minus his bowler. They're smiley, they're happy, and they live to dance - that is, until the Baddies begin their evil experiment.
But it's not all about running round and shooting things; there's a significant strategic element too. Crates fall from the skies . By carrying these to construction pads and arranging them, the Buddies build up their forces. One crate gets you a bog-standard Uzi, two stacked build a new Buddy, and a stack of eight turns into a tank.
The principles are simple. Putting them into practice is a different kettle of fish. Every button on the joypad has at least one use, and the in-game tutorial consists of no nine sections. It takes a while to get the hang of, but the mayhem that ensues is worth it.
So who's it aimed at? Not kids, if the Buddies' cheery refrain of "f***in' 'ell" is anything to go by.
While up to four can join in the mayhem, it needs too much thinking for this to be a mindless post-pub hit.
It will be a shame if Team Buddies does fall between demographic stools, because it's frantic, foul-mouthed and funny - if a tad too clever for its own good. (AB)
