Tropico 2: Pirate Cove
PC, £34.99
Take 2/Frog City
4/5 stars
The original Tropico had you running your own banana republic dictatorship. The sequel, however, puts you in the position of a pirate king running your own island. This time you don't have to worry about appeasing different factions because you only have to worry about your captives, who do the grunt work, and your pirates, who man your ships, protect your island from invaders and keep the captives in check.
This means facilitating all their requirements by building the relevant economies on your island. Pirates need grog, food and wenches at a basic level and, as they gain more experience in pirating, they'll want classier company and luxuries such as cigars. Captives, on the other hand, need sleeping quarters, food and plenty of fearful décor to keep them in a state of sullen obedience.
The 2D graphics are somewhat tired by today's standards, but the gameplay is solid and challenging, with a few twists, such as the ability to resurrect dead pirates to become zombie servants, and the pirates' bosses who appear to be whipping their captives with wet towels! And if you're not too critical of the graphics, then you'll have a lot of fun getting in touch with your inner pirate.
RP
Primal
PlayStation 2, £39.99
Sony
4/5 stars
Primal is the second weapon in Sony UK's drive to generate a worldwide reputation as a developer as opposed to a publisher. Created at the company's studio in Cambridge, it will undoubtedly be afforded a marketing blitz as impressive as that of The Getaway, its Soho-developed predecessor.
Primal belongs firmly to the established third-person, action-adventure genre. You get a feisty central female character - Jen - and a gothic storyline involving the restoration of balance between order and chaos by solving puzzles and engaging in combat across several worlds situated in alternate dimensions.
Primal starts very slowly but it is worth persevering. The puzzles are among the best ever seen in a game, and frequently involve cooperation between Jen and a gargoyle called Scree. Great graphics and an absorbing storyline reinforce the feeling that Primal is a very well crafted game indeed. But it narrowly fails to provide the elusive new ingredient that would send PlayStation 2 owners scurrying to the shops in droves.
SB
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Xbox, £44.99
LucasArts/Activision
3/5 stars
Before Lara Croft made tomb raiding so fashionable, there was only one archaeologist adventurer who mattered - Indiana Jones. But while the whip-wielding hero may have triumphed in the cinema, his interactive track record has been patchy.
This is a third person platform adventure, with jumping bits, puzzle sections and combat. There is too much of the latter, with some levels consisting of little more than a series of running battles. Luckily, the fighting is a treat, with broken furniture and headbutting only two of the ways to dispatch opponents.
Sadly, the puzzles are so anachronistic they could have been raided from the Ark.
There will be plenty of fans who will enjoy pummelling their way through this game, but Indiana Jones and The Emperor's Tomb shouldn't worry Lara too much.
GH
