Game Zone reviews

PlayStation 2

I can't think of a more depressing term in the whole of the gaming lexicon than Dungeons & Dragons. It goes together with words like Star Trek and bed-wetting. So I had better confess now: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is part of the official Dungeons & Dragons universe. But before you put your coat on to leave, I'd better also say that this is a stunner. I'd even go as far as to say that this game is a very good reason why you should own a PS2.
Oh, yes. Because what the makers have sensibly done is remove all the ridiculous RPG nonsense and made this, ostensibly, a fighting platformer. Think 21st-century Gauntlet and you're getting warm. The graphics on Baldur's Gate are breath-taking - smooth, seamless, fluid and inventive - and the controls simple enough to make this a pick-up-and-play. For a game I thought I was going to laugh at, I feel humbled. I hate dwarves, elves and dragons, but I bloody love this. (NP)

Shaun Palmer's pro Snowboarder

PlayStation 2

Snowboarding may be a different sport to skateboarding, but somehow the impossible has happened? the creators of Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder have managed to create a game which is uncannily similar to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series.
There's only two major differences: one, Shaun starts at the top of a hill and snowboards down to the bottom, with Tony just skating around; two (and more importantly), Tony's game is ten times better than this. Palmer is just too stiff and repetitive. And if you have so much as glanced at SSX Tricky, you'll snigger at the overall feel of this much straighter snowboarder. (HM)

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