DEAD OR ALIVE ULTIMATE. Publisher: Microsoft. Format: Xbox. Price: £39.99. Family friendly? The rather risque visuals and violent subject matter make this a game for teenagers upwards.

FIGHTING games may not be quite as popular as they once were but I reckon every gamer should have one or two beat 'em ups in a truly wide-ranging collection.

On the Xbox, the Dead or Alive games are generally regarded as among the best of their type. But the DOA franchise has been around far longer than the Xbox. This title aims to address that by combining the first two games into one handy compilation.

Mind you, as the first DOA was a Sega Saturn game you'd expect the graphics to be somewhat better than they were the first time around.

And while the first DOA does indeed look better than at any time in its long life, rather like an ageing movie star who goes under the knife in a bid to keep up with younger actresses threatening to steal the limelight, it still doesn't match up to the best fighting games on the Xbox.

The game choices boil down to the usual arcade mode, time attack and an indefinite battle mode. There's also an online element if you fancy a spot of one-on-one with a human rather than the Xbox's own "brain".

Things improve immeasurably with DOA 2 - a Dreamcast original that looks absolutely superb in this new incarnation.

The scenery plays an important part in the way DOA plays and in the sequel everything looks so real it's almost three-dimensional.

Most of the levels feature props that can be used to your advantage. By using them on an opponent, you'll inflict massive damage (and no, I won't reveal what you should be looking out for... half the fun is finding out for yourself).

Both games use the same simple and intuitive control system for fighting that makes the DOA games so accessible, even to the casual pugilist.

The real skill lies in learning how to counter an attack - turning a near-death experience into certain defeat for an opponent. As with all beat 'em ups, timing is everything but when you get it right it's a very satisfying feeling.

The online action isn't just limited to a straightforward bout between two opponents, either. DOA: Ultimate throws in the lot: winner stays on, team battles, survival and a full-blown tournament are all there for your selection.

This may be nothing more than a sumptuous updating of a couple of ancient games but just like the cinema remakes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of the Dead last year, this game is so lovingly crafted and well thought out that it surpasses the original in both style and content.

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS; THE MOVIE. Publisher: THQ. Format: PS2. Price: £24.99.

MY mother-in-law loves nothing more than settling down on the sofa with my eight-year-old nephew Thomas and watching Spongebob Squarepants.

He may look like "just" a kid's cartoon character but old Spongebob appeals just as much to adults as he does to the juniors - so can his game?

In fact, Spongebob is so successful that Nickelodeon has licensed the character to appear in a movie and it's this big screen adventure upon which the game is based.

The storyline revolves around a dastardly plot to steal King Neptune's jewels hatched by Plankton, a business rival of Spongebob's food shop.

Plankton manages to frame Mr Krabs for the crime and enslaves civilians by selling fast food containing mind control devices. It's up to Spongebob to prove Mr Krabs isn't a bad guy and therefore bring Plankton to justice.

It's a platform game (isn't every game aimed at the under fives?) and a fairly simplistic one at that (you have to complete set tasks in order to win coins). Watch out for the terrific Mario Kart-like level where you get to race a...err...bathtub.

Devotees of the cartoon will appreciate the amount of work that's gone into making Spongebob look - and act - just like his TV self.

About the only disappointment is the decision not to include cut-scenes from the movie (strange, as the game follows the film's plot to the letter). Instead, all you get are a series of picture postcard stills and a voice-over.

But just like the TV series, this is a game that appeals to older gamers as well as pre-teens. It's not the most difficult platformer ever released (a reasonably proficient games player should be able to finish it over a weekend) but that accessibility makes it a relaxing game to play when you don't want to be stretched too far. In fact, it's the perfect game for a bonding session with the kids.

Alternatively just wait until they are in bed and sneak it back into the PS2 for a bit of solo fun.

VIRUSWATCH

VIRUS experts at Sophos have discovered two new mass-mailing email viruses which attempt to spread a message in support of the Fathers 4 Justice campaign. The campaign has made headlines in the UK and elsewhere around the world because of high profile media stunts by some of its members, such as scaling the walls of Buckingham Palace dressed as the superhero Batman.

The W32/Mirsa-A and W32/Mirsa-B worms arrive as an attached file in an email. The emails sent containing the Mirsa-A variant pretend that the malicious attachment is a resume or curriculum vitae, whereas the Mirsa-B variant uses subject lines such as "How NOT to get Promotion", "Memorandom to all staff", "Urgent Document", "Extremely Important", and "Private and personal".

If the attached file is run, the worm will email itself out to addresses found in the Windows address book and copy itself into files on the infected user's hard drive. The worms also attempt to drop a section of text onto the user's hard drive.

Published: 04/02/2005