Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots
PC, £19.99 Big Huge Games/Microsoft,
*****
Last year's Rise of Nations gave a kick to the real-time strategy genre. By combining the turn-based depth of Civilization with the arcade action of Age of Empires, we finally got an RTS to be excited about. So let's not be too upset that the mission pack is essentially more of the same.
Thrones & Patriots manages to correct the original's two main shortcomings. Instead of one sprawling but featureless single-player campaign, you get four based on historical events.
Playing as Alexander the Great or Napoleon, or recreating the cold war or conquest of America adds depth and replay value to the campaigns, especially when combined with the new units and strategies. You can play as colonial (and later Republican) Americans - a much criticised omission from the first game - as well as Dutch, Iroquois, Lakota, Persian and Indian (of the Asian variety).
Each race has strengths and weaknesses that seem more pronounced and influential. The Americans get military upgrades quicker, making their soldiers more potent, whereas the navel-gazing Dutch benefit from free boats. It's not realistic, but it makes for a perfectly balanced game - especially when up against multiple human opponents online.
Levels still takes ages to load and you can't help wishing there were more to the intermediary map-screens (a readout of historical events while the next battle loads, for instance) but this is usually the stuff of sequels. So although the score seems excessive - as it can do when reviewing great mission packs - if the best RTS just got better, what choice do you have?
Mike Anderiesz
Sudeki
Xbox, £39.99 Climax/Microsoft,
****
Sudeki - created by British developer Climax - is Microsoft's attempt to take on Final Fantasy. And its aim - to create an epic on a par with the Final Fantasy games but with real-time, rather than turn-based, gameplay - has been partially achieved.
Sudeki looks impressive, although the cinematics lack the anime-style coolness of the Final Fantasy games. You play fighter Tal, but as the game progresses, you assemble a team of characters, each with different abilities, and must often switch among them to solve puzzles.
Sadly, the puzzles in the earlier levels are cliched, although they are enlivened by the odd gimmick, such as the need to switch to a particular character to detect ghost items. The combat and magic systems, however, are more successful, mixing combos with melee weapons and two levels of special attacks that are accompanied by glorious visual effects.
Whether Sudeki will convince fans of role-playing games to buy an Xbox remains to be seen, but it is great fun, and technologically impressive.
Steve Boxer
Fight Night 2004
PS2, Xbox EA Sports,
***
Considering the sport's appeal to men, it is surprising there aren't more boxing games around. Nipping in with a swift jab is EA Sports with Fight Night 2004. With a wide selection of pugilists - 32, across all divisions - Fight Night has all the glitz and glamour associated with an EA Sports title. But whereas on Fifa games, for example, the presentation conceals below-par action, Fight Night puts up a good show.
Not that iffy controls help. Fight Night 2004 lets players use the right analogue joystick to "swing" punches. So, rather than hammering buttons to throw an uppercut, you glide the stick around. Some of the time it works well, making you feel part of the action and a bit sweaty. However, the imprecise nature of the stick leads to frustration, and patience is required in harder bouts.
Luckily, the career mode goes some way to rectifying these issues. And, by allowing players to create their own boxer, Fight Night adds longevity as you build your way to the top. The multiplayer lets you indulge in post-pub pummelling with friends.
Fight Night 2004 is a good start for EA's new franchise. With a tightening up of the controls, the inevitable 2005 will be a real contender.
Greg Howson
