Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
Game Boy Advance £29.99 Revolution/Bam
*****
After selling thousands on the PC, the Broken Sword series has found an unlikely home - the Game Boy Advance (GBA). A famed point 'n' click adventure - a sadly dying breed - BS has been ported on to the mouse-less Nintendo handheld, resulting in a lack of both pointing and clicking. Luckily, the new interface works well, with one button revealing all the interactive elements on the screen, and pretty much everything else from the PC and PlayStation title has been ported over.
So expect plenty of European murder mystery, heavy narrative and puzzles that will stump you for hours. Despite the appallingly dark GBA screen, the graphics are impressive, with an amazing amount of detail crammed into a small area. Broken Sword starts off slowly, with players introduced to the main character - US tourist George Stobbart - as he witnesses a bomb blast in Paris. A series of fairly straightforward conundrums later and the plot becomes clearer, especially after a good natter with the numerous characters. Actually, this is an incredibly verbose game, especially for GBA, and while the quality of the dialogue is generally fine, at times the translation is unintentionally hilarious.
Ultimately, whether you'll enjoy Broken Sword depends on how you use your GBA. If you want quick, mindless thrills on your bus journey, then stick to Mario Kart. But if you fancy getting drawn into a longer-term, more satisfying adventure, then BS comes up trumps. It's more likely to sell hundreds on the GBA, but Broken Sword is an engrossing challenge that offers something unique on a handheld.
Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing
PlayStation 2 £44.99 Codemasters
*****
Licensing the name of the most infamous boxer in history smacks of attention-seeking. But leaving aside the controversy that awarding Tyson his own game will inevitably spark, Codemasters has come up with an impressive effort that moves the genre forward.
Past boxing games have been dogged by unresponsive controls, but Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing has harnessed the PlayStation 2's under-bonnet power (there will be an Xbox version later this year) to eliminate any latency between button-press and punch. It also borrows the concept of special moves from beat-'em-ups, allowing you to launch combinations and "signature" punches that are difficult to nail but satisfying when you do.
The fine control you can exercise over your boxer is impressive: different buttons trigger different punches, you can employ a variety of blocks and even punch below the belt, if that's your style. Mercifully, his signature-move - the ear-bite - is absent.
Because of its impressive, though initially fiddly, control system, MTHB provides a rewarding gameplay experience, whether you're fighting AI-controlled computer or human opposition. The custom boxer design mini-program is impressive, too, as it enables you to pursue a plethora of virtual boxing careers, and the graphics are quite impressive.
Mind you, the boxers mince into the ring with odd gaits, and the animated breasts of the round-number girls emphasise the game's political incorrectness. Sadly, Lennox Lewis is absent but the presence of a virtual Audley Harrison raises the prospect of some delicious virtual mismatches.
This is a laddish game that is nevertheless sophisticated and great to play. Boxing fans should find it satisfying.
Warlords Battlecry 2
PC £30 SSG/Ubi Soft
*****
The original Warlords games, of which there were three, were resolutely turn-based, and the first real-time version of Battlecry failed to have much of an impact. Fortunately, the sequel is an altogether more polished affair, combining real-time strategy (RTS) immediacy with role-playing (RPG) playability and succeeding far better than most of us were expecting.
The game has enormous replay value, with 12 highly stylised races to choose from and then a choice of career paths that sees you hone your skills in very different ways.
Play as a Demon Warrior, for example, and you can summon undead armies to do your bidding, whereas a Human Mage will rely almost totally on Magic. There are so many alternatives you may well play the early levels 10 times or more until you find an identity that suits your style. With 67 single-player missions to complete, it's just as well to be comfortable with your chosen partner.
In play, Battlecry is all about making tactical choices. Do you go for acquiring as much territory as possi ble, thereby depriving your enemy of valuable resources, or sit back and develop your units to the point where you can summon your Titan - a single unit with massively destructive powers? These choices are doubly important as the game allows you only one saved position per level - make a mistake and you can find your most valuable units wiped out in a single battle.
Fortunately, the game allows you to slow down or speed up time, issue orders while paused, accept quests and acquire special weapons - a baffling variety of styles are catered for, mostly well executed.
Sure, there have been prettier or more exciting games, but few with this degree of flexibility. Add some amusing sound effects and a soundtrack that Enya would be proud of, and Battlecry 2 becomes a must-have title for lovers of strategic gaming.
