Gangsters 2
CD-Rom £29.99 Hothouse Creations/ Eidos ***
Considering its rich potential for entertainment, the world of organised crime has been under-exploited in gaming.
1998's Gangsters was a flawed, but interesting, use of the milieu in a turn-based strategy game.
Unfortunately a badly designed interface and a steep learning curve, along with a slow pace, meant the game failed to match the intriguing premise.
Thankfully, Gangsters 2 has improved on many of these aspects, making it a more gripping crime feast. Taking on the role of ex-soldier Joey Bane, your aim is to avenge your father's murder by tracking down the kingpin responsible.
Set in the fictional state of Temperance, players need to tackle fellow mobsters and generally unravel the (above average) plot by controlling a select bunch of hoodlums.
Adopting the same isometric viewpoint as before, each of the 20 levels involves lengthy planning and strategic stubble scratching, punctuated by violent interludes.
The biggest improvement over the original is the use of real time, meaning you can make decisions on the fly.
This becomes increasingly useful, as the later levels will test even the biggest Al Capone wannabe. G2 also makes good use of day and night settings; that innocent shop becomes a profitable brothel come evening.
Unfortunately the graphics are oddly lifeless and lacking in detail, giving little reason for the high recommended system specs.
Also the balance between accounting and action can often veer unnecessarily towards the former. Still, with an improved interface, better use of gangs and a tightly scripted plot, Gangsters 2 offers a different slant on the real-time strategy genre. (GH)
Submarine Titans
PC CD-Rom £29.99 Ellipse Studios/ PAN Interactive **
Forty-odd years hence, the earth is hit by a comet, and subsequently flooded as the polar ice caps melt. In this submerged future world, two rival groups of humanity are battling it out for what meagre resources they can find... and then, just to be awkward, some aliens wade in as well.
It's not exactly a Michael Crichton blockbuster, but it is about par for the course as plots for real-time strategy (RTS) games go. A little more thought has gone into the gameplay, which while owing plenty to the Command & Conquer base-building model, introduces a few elements all its own. First off, combat is three-dimensional; that's a slight exaggeration, since your window on the action is 2D and top-down, but five different elevations, combined with the fact that many units can fire only at vehicles on the same level, adds - well, half a new dimension to combat strategy.
The three sides involved are also, for a change, clearly distinct in terms of technology and units. With the White Sharks, the emphasis is on heavy armour and over whelming numbers; the Black Octopi focus on more sophisticated weaponry; and the aliens are, well, alien.
And in possibly the most meaningless touch of all, the undersea environment, with its trenches, volcanoes and cutely animated marine life, together with the rather lovely soundtrack, make for an odd but serene battle arena - it's almost a shame when the bad guys turn up and start laying waste to your base.
Actually, it is a shame. Combat is supposed to be the meat and potatoes of the RTS, but in Submarine Titans it's more like a salad garnish. In the first place, with the madly unpredictable artificial intelligence, you will be hard pressed to find a decent fight. There may be waves of marauding enemy subs - more than your defences could possibly deal with - but apparently they are just taking snaps for the album.
The attempt to compensate for poor computer intelligence with overwhelming opposing forces is a recurrent mistake in RTSs; it makes for a virtually violence-free midgame followed by a mindless slog at the end. At least, it would, if it weren't for another RTS sin: limited resources. Metal and a fictitious element called corium are the staple of your army, and not only are these deposits few in number, but infuriatingly, each one also contains a finite amount of material. If you don't plan your entire campaign down to the last ounce of metal, you could find yourself in an unwinnable position.
Of course, you could eschew the delights of outwaiting the computer for some multiplayer action against your friends. But you will probably have a better time watching the fish.
Formula One 2001
PlayStation 2 £40 Sony *****
Play this game for a couple of hours and you start to get the satisfaction of real achievement. Not only can you get off the grid and take corners without crashing, you are still in touch with the back markers after half a dozen laps.
But you have to concentrate. Poke the accelerator too hard and you are off the road in a second, probably heading for a tyre wall.
Sony's Formula One 2001 feels like the most realistic F1 simulation so far, and that includes Grand Prix 3 on the PC. And thanks to Team Liverpool, the Sony-owned software house that used to be Psygnosis, it finally delivers some of the capabilities locked away inside the PlayStation 2.
The graphics are amazing, especially the trees. The cars and drivers also have a remarkable amount of detail, including thumb-flicks when you change gear, although they don't look as realistic as the tracks and backgrounds.
Even the sound effects are great, except for the commentary from Murray Walker and Martin Brundle. Not their fault, but the voice-overs are predictable, repeti tive, and often well behind the action.
The cars and drivers are from the current season, so you can play as Montoya or Raikkonen, not just an old faithful such as DC (David Coulthard) or Schumacher, M.
No, this is not a pick-up-and-play game, even using the simplest settings. Although you can breeze past rivals at this level, staying ahead needs lots of concentration.
Longevity is not a problem: tweaking the car, learning all 17 tracks with manual gear changes, and completing a season in Pro mode should keep you busy for many months.
However, there are also quick-race and time-trial modes, plus a split-screen two-player game. There is even a spectator option, so you can watch races. The artificial intelligence used for the computer-controlled cars makes this less dull than it sounds.
Formula One 2001 is not for everyone. But if you are besotted with F1 racing, it is irresistible. (JS)
