The Sims 2
PC, £39.99 Maxis/EA,
*****

The sequel to the biggest selling PC game ever is here and it is an absolute treat. As before, this is all about taking control of your own Sims, building them a home, finding them a job and showing them how to clean up.

But The Sims 2 takes the concept to the next level. This time you direct your Sims over their lifetime, from baby to "senior", and can pass on their genes to future generations. This lifetime attachment is also expressed by aspirations and fears.

Players still have to hold their Sim's hand to wash up or shower, but these elements have been downgraded in place of deeper concerns. So younger Sims may want to be read to, and not be shouted at; older Sims may want to attract the eye of a handsome neighbour or avoid being discovered by their wife while cheating with the maid.

The vastly improved graphics, which let you zoom in on your characters, show off the full range of new expressions and, more importantly, make you really care about your Sim.

Whereas before an upset Sim would seem a vaguely comic matter, it becomes a pressing issue when viewed up close. And that's the key: you do care about your Sims, especially when they age and (sob) die.

Throw in an even more comprehensive house design and decorating function, a game-in-itself Sim creation section, and the ability to record movies and you have a fantastic achievement. The Sims 2 has raised the gaming bar.
Greg Howson

Evil Genius
PC, £34.99 Elixir Studios/VU Games,
****

"Everybody wants to rule the world," sang Tears for Fears. Nearly 20 years later, Elixir Studios turns that statement into virtual reality in Evil Genius, a game where players assume the role of a Bond-style villain on the rocky path to world domination.

Being an evil dictator takes hard work. You'll have to recruit a horde of minions to build up a base, while your evil avatar spends time practising a maniacal laugh. With your base established, you have to ensure your operations go global.

This means using your control room - the hub of your evil empire - to gain information from around the world. Then you will be able to train the minions and send them out on special acts of infamy, which include capturing hostages, stealing loot and generally causing havoc.

As your plans start to succeed, you attract the attention of nations, which will try to thwart your plans with spies and agents. Fiendish traps and torture devices are needed.

Evil Genius has a tongue-in-cheek sense of humour that permeates the gameplay, and it's packed with details and well-constructed missions.
Rhianna Pratchett

Conflict: Vietnam
PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, £39.99 Pivotal/SCi,
***
The rivalry between publishers is illustrated by the arrival of the latest Vietnam-set instalment of the impressive Conflict series of third-person shoot-'em-ups, hot on the heels of Eidos's Shellshock Nam '67.

For those who have been thrown into a sea of indecision, fear not. Conflict: Vietnam is easily the superior. But even so, it is far from perfect. Sensibly, it takes a squad-based approach: you control a team of four men undertaking a series of increasingly hairy missions, amid an accurate rendition of the hell that was the Vietnam war. It offers plenty of opportunities for hard-bitten digitised video scene-setting influenced by films such as Apocalypse Now.

The series' perfectly honed squad-control system provides the high point: switching between players is wonderfully intuitive and easily performed even if you are under fire, and the ability to heal squad members at death's door is handy. The missions are varied and believable, and avoid the trap of side-stepping the horror of the war. The console versions sport a handy targeting system that snaps to the nearest enemy, which is essential, since the more accurate shooting view, with gun held up to your eye, is unusable.

A huge gun combines with an annoyingly low third-person view, which means you can rarely see oncoming enemies. This is a surprising flaw, given that Pivotal has made several Conflict games. At least the game has a highly appealing cooperative multiplay option. However, Conflict: Vietnam is not an essential purchase.
Steve Boxer

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