Ultimate playground
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas PlayStation 2, £39.99 Rockstar Games, *****
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the most ambitious and violent, videogames ever. It is an elaborate, extravagant and bloated undertaking that not only throws in the kitchen sink but the fire extinguisher, too.
This time round, there are three cities to play in, complete with adjoining countryside. In this most urban of games, the fields and forests are a particular thrill, adding rednecks and tractors to the mix.
The plot sees your character returning home to find himself set up by a crooked cop. Reclaiming your gang territory is the first challenge, but chances are that for the first few hours, it is unlikely players will notice the story. Instead, they will be too busy customising their character with hairstyles and tattoos, or getting fat by gorging on junk food.
Or, of course, causing random mayhem in the streets. This aspect is enthralling, with a host of new vehicles - trains, planes and bikes - ready for you to abuse. But when players finally get round to moving things forward, it gets tough.
Perversely, for such a popular series of games, the GTA titles are among the most frustrating. The main hair-puller is the missions. Whereas most games allow an instant opportunity to retry failure, GTA forces you to trek back to the starting point each time.
Faced with these barriers and difficulty spikes, players would normally give up. But this is GTA and the freedom to start a riot, or explore the cities, is too appealing. Persevere and you will find a story that, if not gripping, is at least well voice-acted by the likes of Samuel L Jackson.
And when you throw in a pile of new features - two-player mode, dating sections - it is clear what a massive undertaking this is. Unfortunately, the graphics don't always play ball, with many buildings and trees "popping-up" into view far closer than expected.
The PlayStation 2 is certainly stretched by San Andreas and it can only be hoped that the next instalment is reserved for PlayStation 3. Sadly, the music doesn't work as well as in the previous game, Vice City. The early 90s - all gangsta rap and Guns N' Roses - doesn't have the same scope for retro charm as the 80s did. Thankfully, the talk radio and adverts are as inventively amusing as ever.
As a truly epic videogame, GTA: San Andreas is not without flaws, but it deserves huge acclaim for producing the ultimate digital playground.
Rip-roaring ride
The Getaway: Black Monday PlayStation 2, £39.99 Team Soho/Sony, ****
In the protracted absence of Gran Turismo 4, the second instalment of London-cops-and-gangsters game The Getaway is Sony's biggest in-house game for Christmas. Like its predecessor, it was crafted at Sony's studio in Soho, London. But unlike its predecessor, it is as good to play as it is to watch.
The original Getaway featured some of the most impressive cut-scenes seen in a game, put together from data generated by the first full cast of actors to be let loose in a motion-capture studio. But its control system was flawed, so that, whenever your character was on foot, it was a lottery as to whether he would hide or roll commando-style across the floor (and into crossfire) whenever you pressed the X button, which fulfilled both functions.
Happily, in The Getaway 2, the dual-function control system actually works, which at last allows you to enjoy the rip-roaring storyline, varied missions, glorious virtual reconstruction of modern-day London and general atmosphere, which resembles a meeting of The Bill and a Quentin Tarantino film.
This time around, The Getaway: Black Monday adds truly evil eastern European gangsters to the equation. You start playing gung-ho cop Sergeant "Mitch" Mitchell, and then former boxer Eddie O'Connor, an old-school Guy Ritchie-style gangster whose involvement in a bank job that goes wrong brings him and fellow gang member Sam into conflict with the criminals and the cops.
Eddie's abilities with his fists and Sam's stealth abilities add dimensions to the game, which is better designed, longer and slicker than the original. The targeting system, which zeroes in on whichever enemy is nearest the centre of your character's cone of vision, also works much better.
But there are still plenty of occasions when the fixed, generally close-in camera works against you.
The cut-scenes are better than ever: the actors had five streams of data captured: optical and magnetic motion-capture, hand animation via gloves, sound and, with the aid of cameras mounted on stalks protruding from bicycle helmets, video of their faces.
The ability to drive a black cab and participate in street chases outside the story mode adds Grand Theft Auto-style replay value, and confirms the suspicion that The Getaway, after a flawed start, has come into its own as a franchise. Beware, though: it is 18-rated. It may be the first game in which you hear the C-word.
Tribal converts
Tribes Vengeance PC, £34.99 Irrational/VU Games ****
In the world of multiplayer shoot-'em-ups, Tribes has always been the professional's choice. Other first person shooters (FPS) would let you use a well-aimed rocket, but for maximum kudos in Tribes, you had to use a Spinfusor - an explosive disc, hurled slightly ahead of your unsuspecting foe. For real respect you had to do it while skiing, speeding forwards while shooting in a different direction.
With such a reputation, giving Tribes a single player makeover sounds like dumbing down. Fortunately, Irrational has risen to the task. The time-jumping storyline takes you through six characters and a host of diverse challenges. In quick succession you are introduced to all three tribes and combinations of weapons and armour, taking you through just about everything a squad-based FPS has to offer.
However, Tribes remains a resolutely multiplayer experience with bots merely simulating the foes you may encounter online. Strong AI and the storyline just about fool you into thinking there's more to it than a succession of multiplayer modes, but there isn't. Real fans will head for the 32-player online game, complete with a dozen new maps plus vehicles.
If you didn't like Tribes before, this could be the game to convert you.
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Top 5 games All formats
1 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
2 Fifa 2005
3 Pro Evolution Soccer 4
4 Tony Hawk's Underground 2
5 Burnout 3: Takedown
Source: Elspa, compiled by ChartTrack
