House of the Dead 2, Sega Dreamcast, £69.99
Games that involve pointing a light gun at the screen rarely offer much of a cerebral challenge. Good reflexes and hand-eye co-ordination are the key skills. House of the Dead 2 on Sega's new console is no different, but this conversion from the arcade is pretty slick.
Games with their roots in the arcade are often a bit on the short side. Without the need to reach for another coin to continue, there is not much to stop a keen player from completing the game relatively quickly. From start to finish House of the Dead 2 could be completed in under an hour, although this would need a fair deal of practice as there is a limited number of continues. Once it has been finished, though, and all the hidden routes found, you would be hard pressed to play it again.
The hefty price tag for a short game is partly because the light gun comes with it. The game can be played with the standard controller, but using this instead of the gun takes away almost all its appeal. In two-player mode, however, one gun and one controller combine for a reasonably good multiplayer experience. It is here that House of the Dead 2 (like all light gun games) excels.
The graphics show some of the potential of the Dreamcast. Despite the fact that you are "carried" along - as opposed to making your own way through the game - they are impressive, and the frame rate rarely suffers even when there are many characters on screen. The graphics make shooting enemies very detailed. Zombies can be shot in various parts of their bodies. Hitting them on the right or left side, leg, arm torso or head will make them react accordingly. Headshots can be gruesome.
The placing of enemies is an important part of the gameplay in these games and this is very polished. Zombies and all sorts of enemies emerge from all angles, and it's almost impossible to know where the next attack will come from. (Those who are trigger-happy might shoot an innocent civilian.)
House of the Dead 2 is good fun for a quick blast. Except for lightgun fanatics who plan to use the gun in other games that will support it, this is a cheap thrill at an expensive price.
Electronic Arts (EA) is renowned for many things in the world of videogames, but it is perhaps best known for highly successful sport simulations. It regularly churns out football, ice hockey, American football and basketball games. These are almost always good, if not great, games. None, however, could be described as graceful or elegant.
That may change soon with the release of EA's ice skating game. Endorsed by world champion figure skater Michelle Kwan, this game will allow players to create skaters (even pasting pictures of their faces onto a skater, if they want). Players then and choreograph the skater's routines.
There are dozens of costume styles, colours, and patterns for outfits, and over 40 different moves can be used in routines. The mouse is used as in golf games to execute jumps, and the ultimate goal is to win the world championships after rising through other competitions. Few of those waiting for the release of Quake III Arena will rush out to buy this game, but EA hopes that the intended audience (females under 16) will give it a perfect 10.
Cheat, FIFA 2000, PC CDRom
On the passwords screen enter the following codes.
MOMONEY - Unlimited Money
HOOLIGAN - Bonus Teams
BURNABY - EA Pitch
SIZZLE - Players hit by lightning
DIZZY - Players get beamed up randomly by UFO
LIGHTSOUT - Glow Mode