GIZMONDO

Price: £229

On sale: before Christmas.

IF YOU thought the forthcoming pocket-sized PlayStation was cool, just wait until you get a load of the new Gizmondo.

Setting aside the terrible name (the result of a last minute hitch that forced a change at short notice), this new portable games machine promises to be something very special indeed.

Not only will you be able to play software on it, but the Gizmondo will also be capable of playing back MPEG-4 movies, plus your favourite music and pictures. It also has a digital camera, a highly accurate GPS satellite tracking system and connects wirelessly via Bluetooth and GPRS services.

Given that level of functionality, the asking price of £229 for a Gizmondo doesn't start to look so bad.

The company behind this designed-in-Britain hand-held reckons it can sell 15 million units in the first few years. If it does you can expect the price to fall - drastically.

Gizmondo will have a launch line-up of 12 games (loaded via SD cards), with around 30 due to arrive before Christmas.

The software will be a mix of console ports and original titles designed to take advantage of Gizmondo's on-line and GPS hardware. Among the publishers backing Gizmondo to succeed is Microsoft, so that probably nixes any hope of a pocket Xbox for the time being.

Can it succeed? The Game Boy Advance already has a massive software library, a huge installed user base and a far lower price. The pocket PlayStation has looks to die for, a massive launch line-up of software and that all-important "cool" factor.

My advice is to wait and see. After all, how many of you bought a Game.com on the promise of Resident Evil and Command & Conquer ports? I know I did - and six years later I'm still waiting.

SECOND SIGHT

Publisher: Codemasters

Format: PS2, Gamecube, Xbox

Price: £39.99

Family friendly? No. Too much murder and mayhem for the under 16s.

GROAN...not another stealth/action adventure... how many Metal Gear rip-offs can the market take?

But wait. Before you move on to yet another 3-D FPS shoot 'em up instead, consider this: Second Sight was developed by Free Radical Design - the genius coders behind the Timesplitters series. With that kind of talent behind it, Second Sight could well be worth a second look.

When John Vattic, a former researcher, comes out of a coma he finds himself a prisoner in a maximum security medical investigation facility. Vattic can't remember much about his past. He is pretty sure that he didn't commit the heinous crimes that have landed him in the slammer and his actions lend credence to the theory that he was framed as a serial killer.

In order to clear his name, Vattic must escape from prison.

When he makes a break for it, Vattic discovers something even more sinister about himself and suddenly the reason for him being in a medical facility becomes clear.

As you'd expect, gamers take on the Vattic role and his sinister secret is some measure of psychic power that enables him to manipulate other people and the surrounding environment.

Vattic's flashbacks do more than flesh out the intriguing story. They become fully playable levels within the main game and your actions can then influence what happens in the present.

The dual narrative device has been tried before and usually fails. By inter-linking both so closely, however, Second Sight uses the design to maximum effect.

Naturally Vattic's psychic prowess grows as the story unfolds. Initially the best he can do is move a few objects around and terrify the guards. Later on, he can actually knock the bad guys off their feet and smash them into walls.

He also masters the art of healing, astral projection (handy for moving around the levels by possessing the body of another character) and sends psychic shockwaves out to beat an enemy senseless.

If this other-worldly stuff doesn't appeal, fear not. Vattic has access to a wide and varied conventional arsenal, including a ubiquitous sniper rifle.

It looks terrific - a true third generation PS2 title - and the gameplay is both enthralling and challenging without ever getting too hard.

If you enjoyed Metal Gear and Timesplitters then get this game. The story is superb, the gameplay finely honed and the visual a treat.

Incredible as it may seem for a game in such a well-trodden genre, but Second Sight is anything but second rate. In fact, it's one of the best games of the year!