SSX
Sony PlayStation 2 £44.99 Electronic Arts ****
Don't ignore this game just because you think snowboarding is silly. If you enjoyed playing WipEout, Road Rash and Tony Hawk's Skateboarding, you will probably love this because it has elements of all three.
The tracks in SSX (short for Snowboard Supercross) are immensely long, imaginatively designed and full of beautiful detail. You may not appreciate it when your head bounces off iron rails, or you crash through plate glass walls (not the kind of hazard the Olympic committees add to tracks, unfortunately), or go completely off track, but WipEout is rigid in comparison.
The Tony Hawk's element comes from the ability to do stunts, which increase your adrenaline, which increases your speed. (Crashing slows you down, of course.) And if other snowboarders get too close, you can exchange punches, as in the old Road Rash bike racer.
This game will last you a long time, because it gets hard fast. You have to earn each new track by coming in the top three in each challenge, which involves three races. You can usually win the first one easily, but winning the third gets progressively difficult. The catch is that if you finish out of the points, you have to repeat the first two races as well. It's very annoying but it does add tension to the final race.
Winning also provides access to better boards, and the chance to improve the capabilities of your character.
If you complete the game or get stuck, there's still lots to do. For example, you can try the Showoff mode, where you do stunts for points, or switch to two-player mode and race a friend.
The game graphics are smooth and usually sharp. The best aspects are that they don't slow down in high-speed action, and there are no pop-ups, with scenery appearing out of nowhere. The music tracks are also good, though perhaps not up with the best of WipEout. The commentary is amusing at first but quickly becomes wearing - don't they all?
It must be admitted that, after Cool Boarders and 1080, snowboarding games have become somewhat tiresome. However, SSX really has very little to do with snowboarding: that's just the peg for a very fine racing game. And it is one of the best games you can get for the PS2. (JS)
Super Runabout
Dreamcast £39.99 Climax Entertainment/ Interplay ***
Ah, this takes me back. Back to the scorching summer of 1968, when Steve McQueen's Mustang defied the laws of gravity in the sloping streets of San Francisco. Back to late 1987, when Richard McCracken passed his driving test and celebrated by writing off his dad's Volvo and three parked cars. But most of all it takes me way back to December 1999, when Crazy Taxi came out.
Sure, so the city is real this time (a worryingly accurate reconstruction of the aforementioned San Fran). You can also choose from several vehicles, everything from a phut-phutting moped to a tank. Everything you see is destructible: shop windows, rubbish bins, other vehicles. And your missions are, nominally at least, more complex. Instead of taking passengers from A to B, you now have to collect things as varied as bombs and ingredients for a hot dog.
But in terms of look, feel and substance, Super Runabout is Crazy Taxi with a paint job - and a dodgy one at that. The variety in the missions is superficial: it's still basically a matter of driving from one place to another, as fast as possible, without crashing. Then there are the clipping errors, the Dali-esque physics, the mediocre soundtrack and the banal, overarching story.
None of this is to say that Super Runabout is not fun. Its 16 levels are challenging, nice-looking, and ultimately more than capable of pumping life back into those adrenaline glands. But the niggles, coupled with the fact that we've been down this road too many times before (CT, Driver, Grand Theft Auto), leave Super Runabout some way down the starting grid. (AB)
Escape From Monkey Island
PC £39.99 LucasArts ****
Back in 1990, Gazza and Maggie weren't the only ones shedding tears. The first Monkey Island game had just been released and PC owners everywhere were laughing themselves silly for the first time. One of the first "point and click" adventure games, Monkey Island stood out for its humorous storyline and sparkling dialogue, though it was often the devilish puzzles that caused the waterworks to flow.
The formula was successfully repeated in two sequels. Now, three years later, we are being treated to some more Caribbean comedy. The big change this time is the move to 3D, which, in many ways, is a disappointment. The original interface was so good that losing the mouse control seems a revolution too far.But, in 2000, 3D seemsthe only dimension for games to inhabit, and EFMI is no different.
By using a combination of keys you can make hero Guybrush Threepwood manipulate the numerous objects scattered throughout the game as well as converse with the general populous. And you'll be wanting to talk. The writing is Frasier-sharp throughout, and it's a pleasure to play a game that treats you like an adult (albeit a wisecracking amateur buccaneer).
Veterans will be pleased to see that most of the conundrums are as obscure as ever, although the self-referential tone throughout could annoy any newbies. Still, once you get used to pairing seemingly disparate objects and competing in verbal gymnastics, you'll be fine.
The move in to the third dimension is not a total success but, a decade on, Monkey Island still rules the waves. (GH)
