Angel from the realms of gory
Messiah PC £39.99 Shiny Entertainment/ Interplay *****
• Power on, CD in. Install. Readme. Intro. Cursors for movement, mouse-click to fire. Yawn. Enter to use, D to crouch. Jump, flap wings once and fly into shoulder blades to possess. Escape for game menu... Hang on: fly into shoulder blades to possess?
What's happening? Something ain't right on earth and God is seriously upset. He sends down Bob, a cherub, who wears a nappy, has wings about as useful as a chicken's and the constitution of a slug (he's also infuriatingly mortal).
Fortunately, Bob has one essential trick: he can take over any body he wishes - if he isn't spotted and splatted first.
While in possession of a body, Bob can do anything that person could normally do: use weapons, operate machinery, take considerably more damage before dying. But if his behaviour deviates noticeably from what is expected, the trigger-happy humans will get suspicious.
This twist makes for gameplay unlike anything else. There's action aplenty if you want it - just walk into a restricted area, or pick a fight with an armed policeman. But there's also a strong puzzle-solving element: how, for example, do you escape from a high-security technical facility? Well, you can enter the body of a cop and blast your way out; possess a scientist and thus obtain security clearance; fly out in angelic form using the high-powered fans in the engine room; or jump into a rat and sneak out through the sewers.
There are distant echoes of other games: the sense of humour is very Duke Nukem and it looks quite a lot like Half-Life. But the gameplay makes Messiah stand out. Sure, there are one or two graphical hiccups, and the difficulty curve seems a lot steeper than in your average action game, but most of that is precisely because this is not your average action game. All other developers and their money-grubbing, more-of-the-same marketing overlords should be stand in a corner with a dunce's hat. (AB)
It's the ace of bass fishing
Beatmania (Playstation) Sega Bass Fishing (Dreamcast) Beatmania (Konami) SBF (Sega) £49.99 Both games ***
• Historically, gaming peripherals have been designed to adhere to the obvious. So we've seen plenty of light guns, steering wheels and flight controllers but precious little in the way of innovation. Beatmania and Sega Bass Fishing are attempting something a little different.
Beatmania, described as a DJ simulator, is best experienced using its keyboard/turntable controller (sold separately). In a similar vein to Parappa the Rapper, the player must match onscreen prompts with the corresponding key press while keeping in time with the tune.
Sounds simple, but nimble digits are a necessity and though the musical styles lean towards dance, it matters little. Beatmania is totally unforgiving, visually unstimulating yet curiously addictive.
The mix of joy and relief when you finally master the current track is reward in itself. But on the day the music dies - or at least when your calloused fingers can take no more - a spot of fishing is recommended. Sega Bass Fishing is a surprisingly engrossing fishing sim, but it's success is based firmly on the use of its fishing rod controller (again, sold separately).
Setting out on the beautifully drawn lake you simply set the bait, cast away and prepare for some strenuous reeling. The built-in vibration adds to the palpable excitement of landing a catch and if you're keen on fishing or at least fancy waving some plastic around the telly, this comes recommended.
Both Beatmania and Sega Bass Fishing are quirky and enjoyable. Just remember to play both with the correct peripheral, as mixing a record or landing a fish is not quite the same with a plain joypad. (GH)
Let's take another run at the ridge
Ridge Racer 64 Nintendo 64 £44.99 Nintendo ****
• Boy racers start here. This N64 game gives a terrific sense of speed while still providing better graphics than the old Sony PlayStation games, Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution.
If you've played those, or the original Namco arcade machines, there's little new. However, this belated conversion - not by Namco but by Nintendo of America - is still very playable and enjoyable.
The limited capacity of N64 cartridges means there are limitations, particularly the music, the repetitive commentary, and the sound effects. But while the techno sound track will disappoint PlayStation owners, it's pretty good by N64 standards.
Nonetheless, Nintendo has managed to pack in a new form of powerslide, which it calls drifting, for high-speed cornering. (The original techniques are still supported.) There are also two- and four-player modes. The "back from the pub" crowd will be ecstatic.
The main drawback with Ridge Racer has always been the shortage of tracks, and this is still true. There are only three basic tracks, each of which is extended for higher levels, and also available in reversed (mirror image) form. Throw in a couple of extras and you get up to 20, but with not the variety that implies.
There's less of a car shortage, since you can easily add to the original four by winning new ones in one-on-one races. Progress is less a matter of mastering harder tracks than working your way through a series of faster cars. Forget about tweaking extra performance out of them. The emphasis is on arcade-style action, rather than realism.
Well, who wants realism when you can bounce your cars off walls, ram opponents from behind, and still win? (JS)
