Shadow of Memories
Sony PlayStation 2 £39.99 Konami **
Poor Eike - he can't turn his back without someone sticking the knife (or dagger) in. Luckily, he has a digipad - a time-travelling gadget that lets him go back through the ages and prevent his recurring murder.
Yes, for once we can forget about aliens, orcs and racing cars - Shadows of Memories is set in a German town full of ageing museum owners and shy waitresses. But it is not only the characterisation that is refreshing. SoM's time-travelling mystery premise is nothing if not original.
For example, one level sees you transported back to the 16th century to prevent the planting of a tree that will be used as cover by your assailant 400 years later. Everything you do in the past has an impact on the future and some lateral thinking is required to succeed.
However, keeping such a tangled plot together means there are a lot of cut-scenes, which while beautifully animated, don't involve interaction. You'll often feel like you are watching a film or reading a book - not exactly what you'd bought your PS2 for.
Then there is the incredibly linear progression of the game. You are often told where to go to find the next clue (and cut-scene) and although your choices do influence the ending, the handholding quickly becomes irksome.
Konami has described SoM as a digital novel, which isn't too far off the truth, and it is likely the title will appeal to the type of non-action games player who enjoyed Myst.
An admirable attempt at offering something new, Shadow of Memories' narrative is engrossing, it is graphically impressive and genuinely different. What it isn't, alas, is much of a game. (GH)
Unreal Tournament
Sony PlayStation 2 £39.99 Epic/Infogrames ***
The bloodthirst that made gladiatorial fights the sport of choice for ancient Romans hasn't abated, it has merely become digitised.
In Unreal Tournament the gladiators chase each other around futuristic arenas, medieval castles suspended in space and dark coliseums of steel, with high-powered pistols, rocket launchers and laser rifles.
And although their deaths often leave splashes of gore on the walls and chunks of flesh on the floor, they are instantaneously resurrected until a victor achieves a certain number of kills or frags.
Like the faster Quake III and the more sophisticated Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament was originally a huge PC success. On a computer you can take part in colossal battles with dozens of other players, as part of a team or in a vicious and relentless contest where everyone is your enemy.
But the PlayStation 2, designed as part of your living room's entertainment centre, can never hope to recreate that online experience. Sure, you can invite your mates over to share a small portion of the screen or even link a couple of machines together, but it's not quite the same.
The single-player game is shortlived and the fun of shattering a bot's skull with a well-placed sniper shot is virtually removed by the auto-aiming system. And let's not forget that playing a fast and furious multiplayer first- person shooter with a gamepad is like eating tomato soup with chopsticks.
The PC's mouse and keyboard combination has evolved into a perfect interface in the hands of experienced players, allowing a degree of control that is swift, natural and accurate.
Unlike Quake III, UT allows you plug in a USB mouse and keyboard, but who wants to sit in front of the TV with that sort of office furniture?
Amid constant talk of the battle of the consoles, with Microsoft still hard at work on the Xbox and Nintendo yet to raise the portcullis on the Game Cube, it would be good to see some imagination poured into the Sony machine rather than polished but unnecessary conversions. (MH)
Banjo Tooie
N64 £44.99 Rare/Nintendo ****
It is fitting that this game should be released so close to Black & White. If Peter Molyneux is Britain's finest games designer, then Rare is certainly the best development team, having churned out impressive titles since the days of the ZX Spectrum. Banjo Tooie is the belated follow-up to Banjo Kazooie, released a couple of years ago to favourable reviews.
Kazooie fans will be in seventh heaven, as the game features most of the old characters, moves and locations plus a truckfull of new ones. In describing the plot, suffice to say that Banjo and Kazooie are still a bear and a bird who travel and work together but now have an increased tendency to separate and develop their powers independently. Between them they have around 80 moves and attacks, a baffling number of options that are easy to execute and never available at the same time.
Predictably for an N64 game, collecting some kind of token is essential to making progress - in this instance "jiggies" - which are randomly strewn across every level. As you might expect from Rare, everything looks and sounds terrific. Vast sugar-coloured 3D levels, intelligent and imaginative enemies, a smattering of puzzles and breathtaking set-pieces.
The platform game setting is merely a shell for cramming in as many genres as possible, from shooting games to driving, flying and racing. Be warned, however, that some of the puzzles are fiendishly cryptic Despite the technical magnificence, BT remains an acquired taste. I find the two main characters strangely charmless, especially compared to other platform- poseurs such as Zelda, Mario or even Sonic. Yes, the game rewards persistence with a constant supply of challenges but the controls remain fiddly, the camera angle sluggish and I was content to play the game for just an hour or so - hardly my definition of a true classic.
If you love arcade adventures, check it out, if you're expecting the next quantum leap in platform gaming wait and see what Rare are planning for the Nintendo Gamecube later this year. (MA)
