SIM CITY 4: RUSH HOUR Expansion Pack. Publisher: EA. Format:PC CD. Price: £19.99: GIVEN the plethora of expansion packs and add-ons EA has published for The Sims, it's no surprise to discover a new set of extras for Sim City 4.

Customers who pre-ordered the original game received a small package of add-ons for their loyalty. The CD freebie amounted to some new traffic frippery that added a bit of gloss to the game but not much else.

Now EA is back with a much more ambitious transportation up-date to its insanely popular management simulation.

Interestingly, this add-on represents something more than the usual drab attempt at wringing a few more pennies out of fans.

EA bosses prefer to consider it a "game within a game" because some of the missions are very different to the original Sim City idea.

This pack gives successful city builders the chance to leave their desk-bound lifestyle behind and get out onto the streets. Want to know what life is like for the citizens of your cyber-city? Then you'll be wanting Rush Hour.

With the CD add-on up-dating your copy of Sim City 4, you can opt to take a vehicle for a spin. You're no longer the spectator but an active participant in what happens on screen.

Some of the missions are nice 'n simple; others really ratchet up the tension, such as the one where a heart has become available and it's your job to pick up the patient and get her to hospital.

It's not just automobiles, either. You also get the chance to take a helicopter for a spin, a plane for dusting crops and a speed boat to pilot on the canal. Heck, there's even a tank for taking out the bad guys or just doing a spot of parking enforcement.

In total, there are 80 different missions, including training modules, and successful completion of each one improves your Mayoral approval rating. If that rating continues to soar, the game rewards your prowess with a new building that, in turn, unlocks more new vehicles.

Things just get better and better if you happen to have a copy of The Sims nestling away in a dark corner of your PC's hard drive.

Having created your Sims, you can import them into your own city and move them into the houses you designed.

Your little fellas take on the attributes of the neighbourhood. So if you drop 'em into the game's equivalent of Chelsea, they will be ankle deep in cash. If, on the other hand, your idea of fun is to leave them in a perfect example of urban decay, then your Sim soon has trouble spelling big words.

Sim City was always the kind of game that encouraged intimacy. Even in its first primitive incarnation, the premise sucked you in and made you care about the inhabitants of "your" city. Rush Hour takes this familiarity to new heights.

To top it all, Rush Hour also introduces new buildings for your city. There are more than 100 different structures to add diversity to the game.

If you enjoy Sim City 4, then this add-on pack is more than mere eye candy - it's an essential purchase.

A word to casual gamers thinking of investing in both titles. EA is planning to package both in a Sim City 4 Deluxe Edition that should be on sale (at a considerable saving) early next year.

TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 2004. Publisher: EA Sports. Formats: PS2, Xbox, Game Cube and PC. Price: £39.99 (console editions)/£29.99.

IF you are a golf fan then there's a pretty good chance you'll already own a Tiger Woods title or two.

Never one to let a decent licence lie, EA Sports has polished and perfected its golf simulator via the annual up-date primed to hit shop shelves with plenty of time to go before Christmas.

The last edition (2003) pretty much perfected the game mechanics. It also laid on more courses than you could shake a nine iron at and dressed it all in razor sharp graphical finery.

How could it get any better?

For next year's edition, the watchword seems to be "more." You get more players, more courses (including Royal Birkdale and St Andrews), more commentary, and more ways to play (including a driving shoot out, speed golf, the best ball comp and, err, "battle golf").

A genuinely new option presents itself in the form of an idea borrowed from successful WWF wrestling games - "create-a-golfer".

It's a fun addition, allowing gamers to build their own character and go head-to-head with the world's best. The degree of customisation is impressive, too. As well as the 18 different paradigms for the face (not including hair, eye colour and skin tone) the choices range from clothes to the kind of tattoos your guy should sport (a bit too much WWF there if you ask me).

Gameplay-wise, it's pretty much as you were. Your swing is truly analogue, giving precise control over power and direction. Novices can also have their hands held to varying degrees.

An exciting new feature is the real-time events that syncronise with your console's internal clock to offer unique competitions on specific days of the year. Winning unlocks "extras" that can't be discovered any other way. Golf fans will find themselves booting up the game every day just to see if there's anything new to be had.

Tiger Woods 2004 is a terrific example of the golf sim genre. It also poses a massive headache for EA Sports. After all, how the heck are they going to top it?

Published: 03/10/2003