NBA Street
Sony PS2 £39.99 Electronic Arts ***
NBA Street could be one of those most desirable sports titles, a crossover hit. Like Ready 2 Rumble, Tony Hawk's Skateboarding and its predecessor in the EA Big range, SSX Snowboarding, it could appeal to people who do not play or are not interested in the sport itself.
In fact, the professional NBA circuit could learn a lot from NBA Street. Scoring is boring, and in NBA Street, the main aim is to score style points rather than baskets. As in fighting games, you have to put together a string of special moves to get a really big score. However, a "trick points reduction penalty" kicks in if you do the same things over and over again.
The graphics are excellent, and amusingly exaggerated, though not as cartoony as Ready 2 Rumble's. With only three players on each side, the PS2 provides good detail and a smooth frame-rate. The sound effects are above average.
NBA Street is also a challenge, even on the easy level. You have to complete the City Circuit mode against other teams, and also Hold the Court, which means winning a string of games on the same court against increasingly difficult squads. Of course, having Michael Jordan on your side helps.
Winning games earns you extra courts, new players, and points you can use to build your own "super player". And even when you have beaten every "street boss" and unlocked all the cheats, you can still enjoy playing in two-player mode.
If you liked NBA Jam for the last generation of consoles, you will love this. And even if you hate basketball, you might still enjoy NBA Street. (JS)
Onimusha: Warlords
Sony PS2 £39.99 Capcom ***
Onimusha: Warlords, the first million-selling Play Station2 game in Japan, is out in the UK, and is already topping the charts here, too.
From the opening movie sequence to the powerful soundtrack, it is clear Capcom has loosened the purse strings. Set in feudal Japan, the aim is to restore political harmony, win your honour and rescue the princess. It is basically Resident Evil with swords, although Capcom has balanced the annoying control elements with sublime sword play. Using your weapon is satisfying, and the gruesome effects add to the blood lust.
After killing the bad guys, you can pilfer their souls, too. Your sword can be enhanced through the game, which becomes useful when attacking enemies. The graphics are impressive, especially the fog and water, although never quite realistic; as with RE, characters are superimposed on to rendered backdrops with mixed results.
However, while the action is entertaining, the use of the hackneyed Resident Evil-style control system and cam era angles means the game never hits the heights its sales figures would suggest. There are too many attacks from your blind side, forcing you to hack widely into the camera, while thepuzzle element does little to break up the action.
Nevertheless, the sword slashing is addictive and there is a great atmosphere. After a fairly turgid eight months of PlayStation2 gaming, Onimusha is a welcome sign of better things to come. (GH)
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Junior
PC £29.99 Hothouse Creations/Eidos ****
As video games begin to permeate the mass market, rifts are opening between traditional gamers and the casual PlayStation owners who dip in and out when the mood takes them. Are games such as The Sims and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? shameless and shallow cash-ins, devoid of real challenge? Or are they the future of interactive entertainment, reaching out to new audiences as proven by their recent chart dominance?
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire has now sold more than 2m units. The Junior edition was always unlikely to take risks with a hit formula, so do not expect miracles. But this is easily the best interpretation yet of a TV quiz show on CD-Rom. The format of the show is followed religiously, with that familiar music kicking in right from the opening credits and a simple interface, which is well animated and loads in double quick time.
If you know the show, you know the game: the voice of Chris Tarrant guides you through 15 questions of increasing difficulty in search of the fictional £1m. Unlike the adult version, there is no time limit to the questions. In fact, you even get the chance to change your mind.
Roughly speaking the questions are perfect: not too hard and with a bigger proportion of pop and TV trivia for younger players. The pacing is excellent, building tension nicely as you approach the final million. It is a shame Tarrant was not asked to record at least a couple of video segments. Admittedly, it would have been expensive to have him voicing all the questions (and spooling video would certainly slow the game down) but surely an introductory message or a personal greeting for successful millionaires would not have gone amiss. Something for the inevitable sequels, perhaps?
Back in the late 80s almost every major TV series had a spin-off game like this. Will it happen again or are such conversions the only way to attract a non-gaming audience? Only time will tell. (MA)
