PRO 18: World Tour Golf, £34.99
Golf cannot be accused of being the most energetic or dangerous of sports. A stray golf ball can be hazardous, but not many of the pros deem it risky enough to warrant wearing a helmet. It's also a rare sight to see a golfer being stretchered off the 17th green with a pulled hamstring, and while players are at an increased risk of being struck by lightning, rain is the real fear of your average golfer.
So, in times of inclement weather, Golf sims such as PRO 18 really come into their own. PRO 18 is presented in glossy TV-style to create the illusion of watching a tournament on TV and playing in it at the same time. To cement the illusion, the BBC's Peter Alliss and CBS's Bobby Clampett provide most of the commentary.
PRO 18 also features a new four-click system for taking shots. It is harder to master but gives you better control of the ball. You can also choose to play using the traditional three-click system.
The familiar game modes of Tournament, Strokeplay, Fourball, Shootouts, Practice and Skins are included and the courses featured are Lost City (South Africa), Coeur d'Alene (downtown Idaho) and, interestingly, Ireland's Royal County Down. While playing your round, you can choose to be one of eight pros including Colin Montgomerie, Ian Woosnam, Vijay Singh, Jesper Parnevik and Mark O'Meara. Attention to the physics of the game is one of PRO 18's strong points and the developers have gone to great lengths to allow players to customise almost every facet of their shots. You can change your stance, the angle of the club head, and how much spin you want to put on the ball, choose between graphite or steel shafts, cavity or blade irons and, well you get the picture.
Despite - or perhaps because of - all its technical merits PRO 18 fails to deliver a really enjoyable game of golf. There aren't multiple camera angles such as exist in Links LS; it's almost impossible to see your golf ball in flight (realistic maybe); the scenery, while beautiful, looks postcard-like and the crowds are like cardboard cut-outs. But if you can bear its somewhat lifeless atmosphere and have already tried Links LS and PGA Tour, it's worth a swing.
[Req: Pentium 166MMX/32MB/Win9x]
The fifth annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (€3) in Los Angeles earlier this month showcased a plethora of new games. Unfortunately a lot of them are not fundamentally new - being instead sequels or remakes of existing games.
Quake III, Resident Evil 3 and Alone In The Dark 4 were eagerly anticipated, but the games industry seems to be increasingly mimicing Hollywood, churning out blockbusters guaranteed to be a financial success and stifling creativity. Quirky, unusual games are thinner on the ground now - more so than ever. There is some hope, however: Maxis, creators of Sim City, intrigued all in attendance with their new game The Sims.
In The Sims the player is put in control of the individual lives of digital characters. They can be told when to get dressed, what to eat, when to look for a job and the gamer can even help them with relationships and child rearing. It is certainly a new idea, but it could be accused of taking the "virtual" out of "virtual reality".
Sega's Dreamcast will be here in September and Sony has already announced plans for the PlayStation 2, so Nintendo don't want to fall behind in the race to be king of the consoles. Announcing plans of its new system, codenamed Dolphin, Nintendo sent sonic waves throughout the industry. Perhaps the most surprising announcement is the partnership with IBM. In what Nintendo claim is a $1billion dollar multi-year agreement, IBM will design and manufacture the new 400MHz processor using 0.18 micron copper technology. Dolphin will also use Matsushita DVD technology. Nintendo plans to release the new system worldwide for Christmas 2000. Meanwhile some new releases for Nintendo's current system (N64) will feature Dolby-licensed ProLogic surround sound and widescreen modes.
Q3test, the test version of Id's Quake III is finally available for Windows (trailing behind Linux and Mac). The test version features two maps, and can be played over the internet. To download it visit www.quake3arena.com/ q3test/win32.html.