SMASH COURT TENNIS PRO TOURNAMENT 2. Publisher: Namco. Format: PS2. Price: £39.99. Out now: NAMCO'S sequel to one of the best loved of all sports simulations couldn't have been more timely.

No matter how well - or badly - Tim Henman plays at Wimbledon this year, Smash Court Pro allows you to live out those dreams of glory in your very own living room.

Namco has licensed a whole host of top players. As well as Henman, there are likenesses of Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Leyton Hewitt, James Blake and Marat Saffin. Each player has their own strengths and weaknesses, programmed according to real-life data (Henman, for instance, isn't at his best on clay courts, although the programmers may have to go back to the drawing board on that one after his recent French escapades).

The main menu presents you with a choice of arcade, exhibition, a tutorial, a challenge, the pro tour or the option to become a spectator.

You can customise each game according to taste - the difficulty level can be tweaked, you can decide how to play out a tiebreak, whether or not to watch the replays, how the game draws special effects and realistic sound effects or background music. The tutorial is useful if, like me, you haven't played a tennis sim for a while. Initially, I dived straight into an exhibition match, pitting my Henman against the PS2's Hewitt. Sadly, I was blasted off the court - only managing to win one game in an embarrassing drubbing.

The tutorial allows you to perfect those match-winning shots. You select the kind of shot from the buttons on your PS2 pad and direct the angle of return with the left hand joystick. After a short familiarisation, I guarantee you'll be holding your own against the best players in the world. Smash Court remains a very accessible sports title.

The characters are nicely animated and the cut-scenes add to the atmosphere.

My Henman had a real paddy when I missed an easy return - smashing his racquet into the nets in a most un-gentlemanly way. It's a pity you can't play as John McEnroe and have a stand-up row with the umpire when things aren't going to plan. Maybe next time, eh Namco?

BREAKDOWN. Publisher: Namco. Format: Xbox. Price: £39.99. Out now: THIS game carries a 15 certificate from the British Board of Film Classification - and with good reason.

About five minutes into your adventure, your buddy appears and tells you the burger you just ate was poisoned. What to do? It all becomes nauseatingly clear as she directs you to the toilet cubicle and says it's got to come up. I think this is the first video game I've played that boasts virtual vomiting. Thanks Namco.

Breakdown - or Project: Breakdown to give it the title used in the opening credits - is a first person shoot 'em up (FPS) action adventure hybrid with sci-fi horror elements thrown in for good measure.

You play Derrick Cole, a soldier who wakes up in one of those hospitals that only ever appear in video games - all dark grey corridors and locked doors that can't be opened until you find the key.

Namco has taken the usual "find a big weapon and use it on everything that moves" FPS strategy and mixed it up with puzzle solving and hand-to-hand combat. The result is unusual and, at times, exciting, but the plethora of moves Cole has can sometimes prove to be his undoing.

He can run, jump, crawl, roll, evade, punch, kick and climb - and that's just in the opening level.

In addition, Cole can pinch weapons from dead bad guys, drink cans of pop and eat burgers. Heck, as I mentioned, he can even spill his guts - all in the name of survival.

The graphics are neat but the storyline is confusing to start with and the control method (splitting your head and body movements between the two analogue sticks) only served to remind me that the best way to play a FPS is with a mouse.

Early on, your inventory is pretty basic - just a 9mm Parabellum gun and a sub-machine gun - but as you progress, Cole acquires more destructive power. Cans of drink and burgers restore his health. These are purchased from vending machines scattered throughout the levels but Cole has to purchase them, so proceed with caution.

Interestingly, Breakdown relies on you doing well in order to advance the story. If Cole doesn't perform up to scratch, he loses the confidence of his pals and it's game over - so you have to do more than merely keeping your character alive.

Older games will probably enjoy Breakdown - provided they can get their hands around the Xbox game pad and keep Cole out of trouble. Just don't play it after a visit to Burger King.