Champions of Norrath
PS2, £39.99 Snowblind Studios/Ubi Soft
****
To capitalise on what has become perhaps the most well-recognised online game of all time - Everquest - Sony has spent the past few years extending the tentacles of the traditionally PC-based Norrath world. With last year's EverQuest Online Adventures, PS2 players indulged in their own version of the massively multiplayer experience. However, being purely online, EQ Adventures lacked an immersive single-player element. Enter Champions of Norrath.
Coming from the maker of the original Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Champions uses the same engine and much of the title's hack'n'slash gameplay. Taking place in EQ's Norrath land, the game follows a typically generic fantasy storyline. However, character dialogue and interaction is much more linear and basic. There is nothing too daunting to interrupt the action, which is well-paced and fluid. You can't help wishing real life was as addictively simple as bashing the monsters and hoarding the loot. With five character classes, there is enough diversity to make grouping up for a session of multiplayer fantasy carnage suitably interesting.
The game is no Phantasy Star Online when it comes to sublime multiplayer action and it does feel like the single-player experience has been forced into multiplayer shoes. Nevertheless, it gives the game a more rounded feel than EQ Online Adventures and it supports the PS2's USB headset, providing the perfect distraction for console RPG-action fans.
Rhianna Pratchett
Chronicles Of Riddick
Xbox, £39.99 Starbreeze/Vivendi
****
Games of films have been coming thick and fast but most have been a cut above the usual dross, as is true of Chronicles of Riddick, subtitled Escape from Butcher Bay. The game is a prequel to the forthcoming film, which is a sci-fi vehicle for the throaty voiced beefcake Vin Diesel. Riddick is an uncanny facsimile of Diesel, whose games production company, Tigon, was heavily involved in making the game.
Riddick is the universe's most wanted criminal, who gets locked up in the notorious Butcher Bay prison and must escape. The gameplay mixes first-person shooting, third-person interaction, a modicum of puzzle-solving and stealth.
When Riddick enters Butcher Bay, he is unarmed, so it is lucky the game has an impressive fist-fighting system, which is swiftly augmented by objects such as knuckle-dusters and "shivs" - prison knives.
At first, the game seems a tad slow, as Riddick wanders around interacting with fellow inmates - albeit in a scarily realised prison. Indeed, it looks gloriously grimy (abundant blood and swearing mean it is not suitable for youngsters). Things hot up as Riddick begins to cause havoc and acquires weaponry. Although it doesn't break new ground, it is a tidy and absorbing game that looks good and oozes quality.
Steve Boxer
World War Zero
PS2, £29.99 Rebellion/Ubi Soft
***
As gaming premises go, World War Zero's is hard to beat. The action is set in an alternate world where the first world war has lasted 50 years and the trenches rock to the sound of 1960s psychedelia. Sadly, the game fails to live up to this potential, crushing hopes of Captain Beefheart leading a group of acid casualties over the top. Instead, this is a run- of-the-mill, first person shooter enlivened by some spirited moments.
Zero has shamelessly pilfered from every similar game of the past five years, from Quake to Medal of Honor. So we get some vaguely sci-fi moments of corridor blasting, interspersed with gritty realism. At times, with shells exploding in the distance and debris flying, you get a decent sense of atmosphere. Unfortunately, this is usually dissipated by an arcade-style "boss" character and other trite elements that ruin the mood.
The main problem with World War Zero is that it can't decide what it wants to be. The plotline, moody setting and violent action suggest a serious combat epic. The styling and occasional comedy enemies suggest a frivolous blast-'em up. By excelling in neither, it has little to propel it to the forefront other than an intriguing, yet ultimately unsatisfying, storyline.
Greg Howson
