Capcom vs SNK 2: EO
GameCube £39.99 Capcom ** Tekken 4 PS2 £39.99 Sony ***
Fighting games are still popular despite a lack of real innovation in recent years. Titles like Street Fighter set the template, with nicely hard-to-master special moves and oddball characters. Since then, the biggest change has been the move into 3D, which worked well on titles such as Soul Calibur.

Despite this, many fans prefer the more precise controls of the 2D arena. It is they who will be interested in Capcom Vs SNK 2: EO, which has the same mix of cartoony combatants and deceptively tactical contests.

Unfortunately, in trying to make the action easier - EO stands for Easy Operation - Capcom has taken away some of the incentives to hone your skills. Special moves are easier to pull off, but the biggest problem is the GameCube controller, which lacks a suitably precise interface.

A better bet for fighting fans is Tekken 4. Graphically this is a treat, with the backgrounds particularly impressive. There are numerous opportunities to learn better moves while there is still some scope for button-bashing novices to achieve success. Nevertheless, polished as Tekken 4 is, neither it, nor Capcom Vs SNK, offers anything new and are unlikely to gain new devotees to the genre. (GH)

Scooby Doo
GBA £29.99 Heavy Iron/THQ ***
Full marks to THQ for getting this out almost in time for the big movie, far fewer for dumbing it down to appeal to everyone.

You start with a choice of playing Scooby or Shaggy, a semi-redundant choice given that they're as fast as each other. Later in the game, you get limited control of other characters, either to perform certain functions (Velma is smarter, Daphne more aggressive, Fred stronger, etc) or to be saved from traps and dangers when the level demands it.

Scooby Doo is an old-school arcade adventure, so expect lots of wandering around, looking for objects or goals with occasional fights breaking out to liven up the action. There are also four mini-games, some of which can be played at any time, others you have to complete to advance in a particular level. Controlling your character is easy, but imprecise, so fights break out when you meant to run away and vice versa, but you get used to it after a while.

One glance at the screenshots will also tell you that Scooby is no looker. Although the backgrounds are well-detailed, the animation is crude and the graphics are so dark, they're almost impossible to make out.

You also have to question how much time is spent on tedious cut-scenes, presenting the new-look movie characters or advancing the plot, when more effort should have gone into more imaginative gameplay.

This is a trait common to many big franchises, where the developers are aiming for the movie audience as well as the more demanding and savvy game-fans, resulting in a title that sits uncomfortably in both camps. Some of the cheesy dialogue works on both levels, but only kids will find it consistently amusing.

So, all in all, an average game based on an average movie. With more Scooby titles in the pipeline let's hope for more ambitious gameplay in future. Until then, enjoy it for what it is: simple undemanding fun for people with 20/20 vision and a good supply of carrots to see in the dark. (MA)

Stuntman
PlayStation 2 £39.99 Reflections/Atari ***
Stuntman is Infogrames' first major game under the Atari banner, and it just about lives up to Atari's reputation.

Created by the team behind the Driver franchise, it casts you as a stunt driver, contracted to drive like a maniac for the benefit of the cameras in a selection of films that pastiche old favourites such as Lock, Stock . . . and The Dukes of Hazzard.

The detailed aspects of the game are impeccably observed: once you complete the set of missions making up each film, you get to see a playback of your efforts, and the video sequences are generally amusing and among the best seen in a videogame.

But Stuntman has flaws: it is too short, and the gameplay, which insists on precision, consists mainly of repeatedly going over the same ground until you achieve near-perfection. Some may find this frustrating rather than fun.

That said, the cars' handling is a joy, the level of difficulty ramps up smoothly, and as you progress, you do begin to feel like a real stunt-driver. And you can acquire new cars and toys to put in the stunt arena, which you can drive around to your heart's content. This is clearly designed to give the game replay value, but doesn't really succeed in that aim.

Don't expect to play it for months, but with the likes of The Getaway and GTA Vice Cities waiting in the wings, Stuntman whets the appetite for some of the PS2's big Christmas blockbusters. (SB)