D-DAY, Format: PC, Publisher, Digital Jesters, Price: £29.99: Family friendly? The strategic element makes this a game for the over 12s only.

SOME games pay lip-service to historical accuracy. Others blatantly take liberties for the sake of enjoyment.

D-Day places you in command of World War II Allied Forces as the battle to liberate Europe begins with the biggest seaborne landing of all time. It's a real time strategy game that's devastatingly accurate.

The game starts with grainy archive footage of the actual Normandy landings (and includes video interviews with surviving veterans themselves) before throwing you into the action at key moments of the campaign.

You control the troops in the first hours of the landings on the infamous Omaha Beach. Can you get your men ashore and establish a bridgehead in the face of withering firepower?

You also co-ordinate the parachute drops on Sainte Mre Eglise, the taking of the Cherbourg harbour, operation Cobra, the battle of the Falaise pocket, and, ultimately, the liberation of Normandy itself in August 1944.

The opening mission is a tutorial, but don't go thinking it's an easy introduction to D-Day. This is not an easy game. Budding armchair generals have to work - and think - for victory. You can use the space bar to pause the game if you need a bit of time to think your tactics through.

It's not about attack, attack, attack; you'll need to master the art of retreating, regrouping and counter-attacking if you are to get anywhere. At least you can call on the resistance to harass the Nazis behind the frontline and air support to break up the German defences.

When the Allied bombers fly across your screen, they look terrific - a real jaw-dropping moment the first time you let them loose.

There are three campaigns and 12 missions in single player mode, plus a multiplayer element which allows up to eight players to pit their wits against each other at any one time.

D-Day features over 60 historically accurate units, including riflemen, paratroopers, artillery, tanks, transports, and air support.

Throughout the game you'll come across historical titbits, real-life footage and interviews, plus a massive virtual encyclopaedia of the troops and weapons used during the campaign. If you have a teenager studying history of the 20th century then D-Day is certainly a fun way for them to learn about a pivotal moment in WWII.

Who said games couldn't be educational as well as exciting to play?

Sherlock Holmes: Secret of the Silver Earring, Publisher: Ubisoft, Format: PC, Price, £29.99: Family friendly? Some of the puzzles are quite difficult so young children may get bored.

LONDON 1895: the world famous consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful friend Dr Watson are called upon to use all their skills to solve the mysterious death of a wealthy industrialist.

Written by a Holmes buff, The Secret of the Silver Earring is a point and click adventure full of sinister plots and double deals.You move the protagonists around by pointing the mouse, interview suspects and collect clues.

Holmes can use his trusty magnifying glass, a test tube and a tape measure to help him solve the crime. Everything is noted in his notebook and, at the end of each level, you will be expected to answer questions, so pay attention.

The standard of voice acting is high and the plot certainly rattles along, taking Holmes to Brazil and India as well as London.

Fans of the books will be pleased to note the guest appearances of Inspector Lestrade, the indomitable Mrs Hudson and Holmes's brother Mycroft.

It's relaxing and enjoyable. The best way to play is with a pal so you can compare notes and theories after each clue. Who says video games have to be frenetic to be fun?

Even better, the game comes with a free DVD of the Basil Rathbone adventure Sherlock Holmes & the Secret Weapon.

COMPETITIONS

You can win a copy of Sherlock Holmes: Secret of the Silver Earring by answering this simple question: Who stars as Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes & The Secret Weapon? Send your answers to the address below marked Holmes Comp.

Alternatively you may want to land a copy of D-Day and we have three to give away. Just tell us which part of France the landings took place in. Mark your entry D-Day Comp.

Finally our friends at Chips - the North-East's premier independent video games retailer with stores in Darlington, Stockton, Bishop Auckland and Middlesbrough - have come up with a copy of the PC gangland adventure Hitman for two lucky winners, who will also receive a limited edition quartz watch. Just tell us who starred in the mob epic The Godfather? Mark your entries: Hitman Byte comp. Due to the violent nature of the game this competition is for the over 18s only I'm afraid.

Send all your entries to: Burton's Bytes, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF by October 10.