Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

PC, £34.99 Ubi Soft
*****

There was a time when if you wanted to destroy a game's credibility at birth, you just had to shout "interactive movie!" during the launch party. It was the kiss of death, a clear admission that gameplay had been sacrificed to bad actors saying terrible lines. So, if I told you this latest chapter in the Prince of Persia saga plays like an interactive movie, I'd have to add that the director has done a good job mastering most of Spielberg's lexicon. This game dares to take on Hollywood and occasionally wins.

From the opening salvo, when your galleon is rammed by a demon ghost-ship, forcing you to learn the new two-weapon fighting system on the run, Warrior Within never lets up. Borrowing ideas from every action movie from Master and Commander and The Matrix, it is basically a beat-'em-up with platform game, arcade adventure and first person shooter thrown in. It is also stitched together audaciously.

To PC owners starved of console-inspired games, it is a rare treat to find the best example converted so proficiently. Special praise must go to your Time Stretching abilities, which make the game a sheer delight to watch, especially when slicing a zombie in half with a scimitar.

In due course, you will find the director's influence too confining and the experience lacking the freeform majesty of the PC's best epics. But for those who fear consoles are dumbing down every genre they touch, the Prince of Persia begs to differ.
Mike Anderiesz

Ratchet & Clank 3
Playstation 2, £39.99 Ignition/Sony
****

At the height of the blockbuster season comes a game that will sell few copies compared with Halo 2 and San Andreas, yet is right up with them when it comes to fun. Ratchet & Clank 3 is a third-person platform, shooting game that is highly enjoyable to play and watch.

Set in a retro-futuristic cartoon universe, it mixes a sharp script with oversized comedy weapons. If you have ever wanted to take on a lumbering army of robots with a plasma whip, then this is the game to play. R&C 3 also offers the same kitchen-sink approach of previous games.

So, while the majority of the levels involve using the best weapon for the job, players can expect plenty of platforming, flying and driving. There is even a "levelling-up" system that allows Ratchet to use more advanced weapons and gadgets.

The online mode is a first for the series. While PS2 online gaming is a minority pursuit in the UK, R&C is worth a bash. Running around the colourful environments, blasting friends and strangers, is entertaining.

Overall, Ratchet & Clank 3 can be summed up in one word - fun. It may lack the violence or street-cred of big-selling games, but it deserves a place in your Christmas stocking.
Greg Howson

Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
PlayStation 2, £39.99, Atari/Stormfront Studios
***

Something about Demon Stone is reminiscent of Electronic Arts' Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. But surprisingly, this third-person action roleplaying game edges ahead in the graphics department, which is essential given that the Forgotten Realms (FR) universe hasn't received the publicity kick of Tolkien's world.

Stormfront Studios has rolled out the big guns, getting the FR author RA Salvatore to pen the storyline, and the likes of Patrick Stewart and Michael Clarke Duncan to do the voice acting. The storyline is good in general. However, the dialogue between the three main leads - around which the action revolves - is on the cheesy, fantasy-schlock side.

The characters are generic fantasy fare: a warrior, a rogue and a mage, each with individual fighting styles. The idea is to flip among the three to utilise their talents. In practice, you are not given much opportunity to test each character, and it is too easy to stick with the warrior and plough through, leaving your AI-comrades to tidy up. Unsurprisingly, this turns into a button-mashing affair and the possible depths go unexplored.

Despite this, Demon Stone is easy to pick up and play, with rich environments and an engaging storyline.
Rhianna Pratchett

Flat Out
PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, £39.99 Bugbear/Empire Interactive
***

It is no mean feat for a driving game to achieve a measure of originality, so for that Flat Out must be applauded. It is a souped-up banger racing game, in which you race nitrous, oxide-injected American rust-heaps around Tarmac, dirt and mud tracks.

It would be unremarkable but fun, were it not for the presence of a very impressive physics engine and surprisingly advanced AI. The core of the game - track racing - is fairly standard, although the chance to preserve nitro bursts for key moments adds a strategic element.

The tracks are great, and are littered with hazards such as piles of logs which lurk, waiting to launch you through the non-existent front windscreen of your car if you catch them. As you win prize money, you can upgrade your car, as in Gran Turismo. There are also plenty of extraneous objects you can demolish while racing, and car feel is excellent, making the switch between surfaces enjoyably realistic.

But Flat Out's originality is rooted in a number of Burnout-style mini-games, in which you launch your driver through the windscreen and watch him fall like a rag doll. The main drawback is that it does not contain as many tracks as it should so feels a bit insubstantial. But factor in superb graphics (especially in the Xbox version) and you have a game that is great fun, well executed and fairly satisfying.
Steve Boxer