Dangerous flight

MiG Alley, PC CD-Rom, £34.99

Combat Flight sims come in many varieties but MiG Alley stands out from the masses. What makes it unusual is that while it involves flying jets at up to 1,000 mph the aircraft is not equipped with modern radar-guided missiles. This is the best of both worlds, the player shoots dots on the radar screen - and still has the speed of a jet.

It can be quite hair-raising at times and with up to 100 other aircraft in the sky at any given time players have to keep their wits about them to stay airborne.

MiG Alley is set during the Korean War and success or failure in the air will be mirrored by the troops on the ground. If the pilot does a good job, they will proceed with their offensive - if not, they retreat. Some of these 1950s jets can be unpredictable to control, just as the real ones were. Among those that can be flown are the Russian MiG 15 and the American F86 Sabre.

Rowan Software is not new to flight sims. Its previous effort, Flying Corps, was highly impressive. MiG Alley uses an all-new engine, improved AI and enhanced graphics. While Flying Corps landscapes measured 150 km by 150 km, MiG Alley simulates 1500 km by 1000 km of Korean terrain, complete with multicoloured mountains, ravines and bridges. Also included is a paint program to customise the appearance of planes. MiG Alley is easy to get to grips with, but can also be complex. It probably favours those who have experience with flight sims and will definitely appeal to the enthusiast - but it is also quite a good way to earn your wings.

[Recommended: PII,32MB, Win9X]

Command & Conquer, Nintendo 64, £44.99

WHILE most of the gaming world awaits the imminent release of the sequel Tiberian Sun, Nintendo owners finally get a chance to play one of the most influential and popular games in the last few years.

Unlike the PC version and for obvious reasons, the N64 version cannot be played over the Internet, a feature which was responsible for much of Command & Conquer's continued success.

Nevertheless, this real-time strategy game of world domination is a welcome addition to the N64 library, and offers Nintendo fans something with a bit more depth than the usual fare. You play the role of either the Brotherhood of Nod (the bad guys) or the Global Defence Initiative (the good guys), and try to outwit the other in the battlefield.

Every mission from the original version is included, along with missions exclusive to this release. For those who have already played it in the original format, it is hardly worth shelling out for this version. But for those who haven't, get ready to conquer the world.

SEGA of America says that it has broken the North American industry record for retail pre-orders of a videogame console with the Dreamcast. Six weeks before its launch date, Sega had received 200,000 orders, about double the estimated pre-orders for the Sony PlayStation. Once the system goes on sale, Sega expects to sell more than 400,000 in the first 30 days, one million by December 31st and 1.5 million by March 31st next.

PSYGNOSIS will be one of the first developers to bring a DVDROM game to market with its latest game Lander. The DVD version combines MPEG2 video, Dolby Digital and 5.1 channel interactive sound effects. DVD capabilities include a multiple camera-angle feature that can be switched from full motion video sequences to view the wire-frame graphics from which they have been constructed.

games@irish-times.ie