Turok Evolution Publisher: Acclaim. Platforms: PS2, Gamecube, X Box. Price: from £39.99

THIS is a very special Turok game. Not just because the series is now back on track after a ropey old third outing on the N64 but because it brings Turok's comic book dino-hunting to PS2 and X Box for the very first time.

First, a quick history lesson. Turok Dinosaur Hunter was a launch title for the N64 way back in 1997. By common consensus, it was the best third-party game available and pushed the 64 hardware further than most of its contemporaries. It also sold for a ludicrously expensive £70.

The sequel, the imaginatively titled Turok II, pushed the N64 even further as the first game produced to take advantage of the console's memory expansion module for enhanced graphics.

Interestingly, Turok's latest adventure actually precedes those outings on the N64 (later in life he obviously got stuck in a world of watery colours and fuzzy graphics). It tells the story of the Lost Land that Turok originally found himself in and how it came to be.

The Lost Land itself looks pretty much as before only the jungle is far more detailed thanks to the heavyweight graphical finery Acclaim's programmers can now call upon.

Fans of the series will be relieved to find the usual array of sadistic weaponry at their disposal, including the Tek Bow and sniper attachment.

It's also just as bloodthirsty as those earlier games and carries an age restriction - so parents beware if you are asked for this title at Christmas.

The extra horsepower beneath the latest generation of games consoles has also allowed the designers to realise a dream they had for the first game: namely a Pteranodon level where you fly around on a giant reptile machine-gunning (yes, machine gunning) the bad guys.

Apparently this idea could not be accomplished on the N64 athough Sega had no such problems developing a similar concept for the Panzer Dragoon series over on the Saturn. Still, better late than never, eh?

As well as the well tooled up reptile storm troopers you come across a Jurassic Park-ful of real-life dinosaurs including a terrifying underwater creature that resembles nothing so much as a mouthful of razor sharp teeth with flippers attached.

The upshot is a first person perspective shoot 'em up that's on the cutting edge of console design. It may have entered a crowded arena (FPS shooters are ten-a-penny these days) but Turok still has what it takes. There's little between the various versions so you can buy the PS2 version secure in the knowledge that it's just as good as the Cube version. Gamers who have never entered the Lost Land before are in for a real treat.

The Sims Unleashed. Publisher: Electronic Arts. Platform: PC. Price: £20.

I suppose the idea of bringing up your own virtual family must have seen pretty daft before The Sims appeared three years ago. So maybe this expansion pack that adds virtual pets to the recipe isn't such a crazy idea for a game after all.

But hang on a minute; haven't we been here before? The whole virtual pet thing was tried in Catz and Dogz (those tiresome animated pets that cluttered up your PC desktop) and all they did was make me yearn for a virtual dog pound.

Thankfully The Sims Unleashed (geddit?) isn't anything like Catz or Dogz. Your cyber family take to their new pet just as any normal household would.

They coo over the cute puppy, get wound up when the housetraining goes awry and enjoy teaching it tricks. It's all good wholesome stuff and, in the light of the North-East's poor reputation for cruelty to animals, has a serious educational side as well. Games as teaching aids, whatever will they think of next? Not the dreaded edu-tainment please.

Otherwise The Sims Unleashed throws in the usual array of sensible (but fairly pointless) extras including a whole new part of town (Old Town) complete with jazz club, supermarket and, yes, a pet shop.

The Sims is one of those games that has no real end. You can keep on tending to your family for as long as you can be bothered.

Expansion packs like this help boost a game's longevity by adding more ingredients to the mix.

What's more it's good value at just £20 and should do us all very well until EA gets round to releasing The Sims Online or The Sims On console (and they're both coming soon, believe me). Just the sort of thing to tide you over until something with a bit more meat comes along