Game Zone reviews

PlayStation 2

Second time around and you're away from home. Smuggler's Run 2 starts by jetting you off to the Balkans and Vietnam, where (as with the first game) you have to pick up shipments and deliver them, with the army and police in hot pursuit, using dune buggies, 4x4s or quad bikes.

But different machines are unlocked only when missions are successful. Very fast and great-looking, what this has in its favour above every other driving game is the vast arenas you play in. Nowhere is out of bounds. You can go crashing through a Croatian village or skimming over Asian paddy fields to shake off the heat behind you. A very impressive ride.

GTC AFRICA

PlayStation 2

A rally game that allows you to travel all the way around Africa, starting in South Africa, going on to Zambia, Egypt... you get the idea. But put GTC Africa up against the very similar Paris-Dakar Rally and you've got problems. Paris-Dakar has a nicer feel, sharper graphics and is generally better put together.

But the desert gets so damn monotonous. GTC is the polar opposite - with every circuit comes a variety of terrain and surfaces, and some very nice famous landmarks (such as the Victoria Falls) thrown in to make each race different from the last. But it's very hazy, almost like a souped-up PS1 game, and doesn't feel responsive enough. You choose.

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