SPLINTER CELL: PANDORA TOMORROW

Format: PS2

Publisher: Ubisoft. Price: £39.99.

IF THE PC gaming genre is overcrowded with first person shoot-'em-ups then the console scene is packed with stealthy adventures.

Ever since Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation, companies have been looking for another stealthy blockbuster. We've had plenty of pretenders for the crown (Siphon Filter and In Cold Blood being two of the best) but, so far, only Splinter Cell has received the kind of approbation lavished on Metal Gear.

Although Splinter Cell was good it still had problems. The difficulty was high from the beginning - making the game too hard for casual gamers - your aim was usually stupidly wayward and the whole adventure was just a bit too linear. Ubisoft noted Splinter Cell's success, listened to the criticism and sent its teams away to come up with a sequel that could better the original and address all the fans' concerns.

To a large extent they have succeeded. The linearity that so blighted the first adventure has been banished. Now there is usually more than one way to complete a level. There's no "right" and no "wrong" so by electing to climb out the window, you don't miss out on any of the clues you'd have picked up by creeping through a building room by room.

The levels are a nice blend of Bond-esque open spaces and claustrophobic Metal Gear-style interiors. You can wander pretty much wherever you want but the clues are fairly well sign-posted so there are no excuses for getting lost.

Sam Fisher's gadgets include the camera jammer that was pretty much useless in the first game (now much up-graded), a satellite positioning system to get your bearings and smart bombs that can knock out electronic gear as well as the usual weapons. The sequel also throws in a multi-player element played across eight specially designed levels that requires plenty of caution if your team is to be successful.

Best selling novelist Tom Clancy has script approval on Splinter Cell but the team behind the sequel say they took their inspiration not from a Jack Ryan paperback but the phenomenally successful TV series, 24. Some of the cut scenes and the cliffhangers wouldn't disgrace an episode of the Kiefer Sutherland show.

Splinter Cell comes of age with this game. All the problems that held back the original have been overcome and all the rough edges smoothed down.

Does Solid Snake finally have some genuine opposition? I reckon he does.

LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION

Published by: Electronic Arts

Format: PS2

Price: £29.99. Out: now.

ANOTHER week and another film tie-in arrives for the PS2. This one is based on a movie that failed to set the world alight so can the game turn things around?

Warner Brothers icons Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck team up to find a diamond that's been pinched by a naughty monkey. The search takes place across five diverse locations, including the legendary ACME film studio.

First impressions are good. Looney Tunes looks good, with bright colourful graphics and typically "looney" sound effects. The two main characters are well drawn and neatly scripted. At times it really does feel as though you are starring in your own interactive cartoon.

Unfortunately this fails to disguise the fact that Looney Tunes Back In Action is just another 3-D platformer. Younger gamers probably won't mind the repetition, but adults - many of whom grew up with these 'toons - will soon grow tired.

KYA: DARK LINEAGE

Publisher: Atari

Format: PS2

Price: £29.99. Out: now.

IT may lack an all-star cast or a big name movie licence, but this game is an object lesson in how to make a 3-D platformer for the PS2 crowd. The plot is typically hokey (your character morphs into an alternate world populated by strange dog-like creatures and has to rescue her brother) but the graphics are sharp and the levels never fail to offer something new and challenging.

There's plenty of choice: puzzle solving, running, jumping, fighting and weaving magic. You have nine colourful environments to explore, each one packed with surprises and sub-games. As you get deeper into the game, so Kya's powers are up-graded to make things slightly easier against the lesser enemies (although beware the bosses). You can improve your chances still further by turning the bad guys into goodies with magic.

Kya is never going to be a PS2 best seller but anyone who enjoyed Jak and Daxter will find much to like here.

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