MALICE, FORMAT: PS2, Publisher: Xicat Interactive, Price: £39.99: IT'S not very often your game starts with the death of the main character but that's exactly what happens in the first moments of Malice, the new role playing adventure from Argonaut.

Having being killed and refused entry to heaven by death, Malice is sent back to put right the mess she caused. She meets the Metal Guardian, a machine that is the keeper of the universe, who reveals that Malice and her world were destroyed by chief baddie Dog-god.

Unless Dog-god can be found and vanquished the whole universe will share the same fate.

Finding him will not be easy. Normally the Metal Guardian would use his machine to track him but Dog-god has stolen the logic keys that give the machine its omnipotent power. Plucky Malice must get them back for without the logic keys there is no hope of stopping him.

To help her along, Malice has a journal that offers handy hints early in the game and is a voluminous repository for extra health, weapons and magic. Malice must collect Crystal Heart Pods to boost her health. There are 100 of these scattered throughout the universe. Be certain to collect everything on each level because you can't go back.

Each logic key unlocks the Metal Guardian's machines. These allow the machine to locate each of Dog-god's minions. The last key leads Malice to the bad guy himself.

To defend herself, the Metal Guardian gives Malice the ace of clubs - a mace that's perfect for self-defence. Malice can also run, jump and glide through the air by pressing the R2 button. Mana crystals recharge your magic and you'll need plenty during your epic quest.

Malice herself has a neat repertoire in one liners but the use of American-isms sometimes proves to be irritating rather than funny ("What are you, the goddess of big sneakers?" asks one character who resembles a giant tree. "I'm the goddess of kicking monsters' butt, is what," comes the reply.)

Pressing L2 centres the camera behind your character's head. Accessing your inventory allows Malice to select the magic and weapons she needs to defeat end-of-level bosses.

The graphics are colourful and sharp, the puzzles are pitched just right and the diversity of the locales makes Malice a fine addition to the PS2's RPG roster.

Argonaut, the British team behind Malice, are old hands at this sort of thing and it shows in the confident way the plot develops and the finely honed gameplay each level enjoys.

We have four copies of Malice to give away (PS2 only). To be in with a chance answer this easy question: What does Malice have to find if she is to save the universe? Answers to: Malice Comp, Burton's Byte, Priestgate, Darlington DL1 1NF. Closing date: May 21.

PROJECT ZERO 2: CRIMSON BUTTERFLY, Format: PS2, Publisher: Ubisoft, Price: £39.99

CRIMSON Butterfly is the sequel to what Tecmo - the Japanese coders who created the series - rather modestly describe as "the most terrifying game of all time" on the back of the box.

Project Zero was certainly a decent spooker but its shocks were more subliminal than the all-out-gore approach of something like Resident Evil.

The sequel certainly starts promisingly enough as two young sisters find themselves trapped in a lost village that's surrounded by mist and inhabited by long dead souls.

As with the first game, Crimson Butterfly has more in common with modern Japanese horror movies like Ring and Dark Waters than visual gut munchers such as Dawn of the Dead.

The cut scenes are filled with nerve jangling cut-aways, split second flashbacks that hint at horrific events and screeching music on the soundtrack. Every single frame is filled with dread.

It eschews the true 3-D game engine in favour of a three-dimensional character overlaid on a two-dimensional backdrop. Both in the way it looks and the way it plays, Crimson Butterfly reminded me of Resident Evil: Code Veronica.

Horror games of recent days seem to have abandoned the measured pace that made Silent Hill and the first Resident Evil so striking in favour of all-out action. This has made for a genre of games that satisfy in the short term but ultimately fall short due to repetition.

Crimson Butterfly is a fine return to form. It may not be the scariest game ever made (nor was the original) but there's a strong enough sense of unease to make the hairs on the back of your neck prickle and to prompt the odd nervous glance over the shoulder.

Project Zero 2 isn't a game for those of a nervous disposition nor gamers with a fertile imagination. The 16 age rating is well merited in this case.

Don't say we haven't warned you.

VIRUS WATCH

NETWORK Associates, the company behind the McAfee brand of security software, is advising home and business computer users that a new generation of threats that have the ability to attack vulnerable PCs virtually undetected is on the horizon.

Using one or a combination of existing and new stealth threats, hackers can cause the following impacts on PCs:

* theft of sensitive information like personal bank details, passwords, company financial data and confidential company information

* hijacking user identities to access personal and business accounts and for other fraudulent activity

* spying or snooping on homes and businesses both out of curiosity and with malicious intent

* turning computers into spam and virus generating machines or "zombies"

* storing sexual and other illegal content on PCs other than their own to avoid legal consequences if discovered.

The recent war between the Bagle and Netsky authors has been a major factor in the huge number of virus attacks seen this year - and these contribute directly to the type of vulnerabilities that can be exploited by a stealth attack.

The rapid growth in use of the Internet, permanent broadband internet connections, peer-to-peer technology (made famous by Napster) and new software for writing viruses has amplified the threat and rate of infection.

Vincent Gullotto, vice president of McAfee AVERT at Network Associates said: "New techniques will be developed making un-patched systems with outdated security software more vulnerable. These could feasibly be used to launch a well-coordinated global attack on multiple fronts such as websites, business networks and operating systems."

As a result, Network Associates has created the first advice-driven online security clinic at www.mcafeemakesiteasy.com, offering expert advice to consumers and businesses.