Official Football Manager (Southampton, Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea, Leeds)
PC £24.99 Smoking Gun/ Just Football ****
Football management games have been around since the mid-80s, and have carved a big niche in the gaming world. Over recent years, one brand - Championship Manager - has risen to the top, with its comprehensive database, regular updates and addictiveness. But as the series has grown, so has its complexity. Then there is the lack of focus on any one club.
Recognising a gap in the market, Just Football has nipped in with the Official Football Manager series - a number of games based on individual clubs. Not only can you choose your own team, but you also get specific images of the stadium, changing rooms and fans. If you support one of the teams, you'll thrive on this level of detail.
It is also easier to play and more focused than Champ Manager. Yes, you've got lots to deal with, but you could finish a season in an evening, leaving the assistant manager to look after the training schedule. There are no graphical match highlights. Instead, games are shown as a series of textual events, with imagination still vital.
Hardcore CM players will be disappointed with the lack of in-depth statistics, although there is more than enough to give you a feeling of control. If the thought of leading, say, Southampton to victory at Anfield makes your pulse quicken, then this is for you. (GH)
Kingdom Hearts
PS2 £39.99 Sony/Squaresoft ****
For those of us who grew up with such classic Disney films as The Jungle Book and Snow White, the big budget Disneyfied movies now produced are less likely to impart a feeling of childhood wonder than induce the feeling that you've just bitten a sugar pig. A Disney spin on the classic Final Fantasy games is therefore seemingly fraught with danger. In fact, Kingdom Hearts perfectly encapsulates the magic from both worlds.
The story starts with Sora, a young boy who hasn't known anything but his idyllic island life. He is thrown into a mysterious universe where he learns that an evil force has disrupted the king doms of the world, and only he holds the key to repairing the damage. Disney's magical kingdom is also in turmoil after the disappearance of King Mickey, and the Disney characters call on Sora to help solve the mystery.
Aside from the fact that it's in real time rather than turn based, the gameplay mechanics and overall style has many of the typical Final Fantasy hallmarks. The animations are both beautiful and nostalgic, as alongside many recognisable Final Fantasy characters, almost every Disney creation you can think of makes an appearance.
Kingdom Hearts is heavy on the cutesy eye candy, but a little of the darker Disney days of The Black Cauldron and Fantasia has been allowed to creep in to give the game a bit more depth. For adults to write this off as "just for the kiddies" would be doing themselves out of a magical trip into everyone's childhood fantasy world. (RP)
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
PS2/Xbox/ GameCube £39.99 Neversoft/ Activision ***** A yearly instalment of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater has become as inevitable as death and taxes. But it's always a lot more welcome, and Activision has neatly sidestepped potential allegations of cashing in by giving the fourth iteration of its all-conquering skateboarding game a substantial restructuring. Instead of having two minutes to fulfil the objectives laid out at the start of each level, those missions are now acquired by talking to characters within the stages, leaving you free to explore.
The silky control system remains the same, although two moves have been added: Spine Transfers and Skitching (in which you cling on to the back of moving vehicles). Everything about the game is bigger and better, notably the levels and the number and diversity of missions. Some of the things you must do to progress are hilarious, such as knocking fishermen's catches into the San Francisco Bay to distract sea lions from a tourist they have cornered, or smashing a wino's pink elephant hallucinations.
The game's new format (each level has 16 goals) mercilessly exposes gaps in your ability to string tricks together and now, more than ever, the game allows you to perform stunts that will have onlookers gasping. Precious few games are enjoyable to watch as well as play, but this is. And as it is both funny and exhilarating, it can be seen as a lesson in how to keep an ageing franchise fresh and relevant. (SB)
