Rome: Total War
PC, £39.99 The Creative Assembly/ Activision,
*****
With all the waiting for Doom 3 and Half-Life 2, the final game in the Total War trilogy crept up like the master tactician it is. Well, wake up, because if you're looking for the game of the year, you have two serious contenders here - for a turn-based and a real time strategy game.
The strength of the Total War games was always the battles - panoramic beauties where soldiers fought like you imagine they once did: half stoic bravery, half blind panic. Even so, the new 3D engine is a revelation. The ease with which you can zoom in on soldiers is something others have tried but never pulled off this well. Consequently, the battles - featuring up to 5,000 men on each side - are as enthralling to play as to watch.
The weakness was always the boring bits in between, and here's the big surprise, because these too have been overhauled. You now have a proper turn-based strategy game that is as fun to play as Rise of Nations, formerly the best in its genre.
On the world map you can run your empire in six-month turns - developing towns, claiming resources, everything short of seizing control of the Senate, which forms the climax of the single-player game. Once you've completed that, there are 10 historical battles, two multiplayer modes and all the online support you want.
As far as war games go, The Creative Assembly has raised the bar so high other developers must be reaching for the hemlock.
Mike Anderiesz
Fable
Xbox £39.99 Bullfrog/Microsoft,
****
Peter Molyneux has been responsible for such fine games as Populous and Syndicate. So his latest offering, Fable, has been widely anticipated. This is a third-person action role-playing game (RPG) in the mould of the Zelda series.
It starts rather slowly with a young boy, then takes off properly when he reaches adulthood. By choosing quests, players can decide what their hero becomes. But while other RPGs, most notably the fabulous Knights of the Old Republic, offered similar freedoms, the beauty here is in the reaction of the world's inhabitants.
If you do the right thing - slay hoodlums, escort traders - then everyone will offer admiration, respect and love. Do the opposite and they'll cower in fear from your sword.
As you show off your latest trophy to cheering villagers, it is easy to get a feeling for the lifelike world that Molyneux and his team were aiming for. But the meat of the game is exploration and combat. The latter is satisfying, but exploration is elementary, with obvious signposting and no room to deviate from pathways.
The environments are expansive and convincing but the character graphics lack detail. Despite not reaching all the heights hoped for, Fable is innovative and hugely enjoyable.
Greg Howson
Fifa Football 2005
PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, £39.99 Electronic Arts Sports
***
Fifa Football 2004 was EA Sports' nadir. Its chief innovation was an unusable "after-touch" gimmick, which it spent so long developing it was not finished properly in time for release. So fundamental features, such as the ability to alter the game's speed, were omitted.
Happily, this year's effort is much better - although not good enough to reclaim top spot. The after-touch control has been ripped out and a more useful first-touch control, operated using the right analogue stick, installed.
Excellent graphics, an improved, more realistic passing system, a free-kick system that operates in a logical manner and a Pro Evolution Soccer-like press-and-hold shooting system constitute the game's highlights. There is also support for online play across all platforms now that EA has begun to support Xbox Live.
A career mode, in which you take the reins of a lowly club and work your way up to the Premiership, or favourite global league, is an intriguing addition, but controlling players who would be more at home on Hackney Marshes proves frustrating.
However, there are still areas in which Pro Evolution Soccer remains superior - namely, off-the-ball player movement when going forward, and automatic player selection. This year's Pro Evolution Soccer will also be available for the Xbox. Fifa Football 2005 marks a return to form, but it is no undisputed world-beater.
Steve Boxer
