Drakan: The Ancients' Gates. Format: PS2. Publisher: SCEE. Price: £34.99

FINAL FANTASY is a huge problem for software developers crafting a role playing game on the PlayStation 2.

So popular has Square's series become that a new instalment of the Final Fantasy saga tends to overshadow everything released at the same time.

The original Drakan (subtitled Order of the Flame) was a pretty mediocre PC effort that didn't make the transition to Sony's uber console.

Still, there were signs (mainly the graphical splendour and the deft controls) that with a little work a sequel could be something really special. And so it has proved.

Drakan: The Ancients' Gates continues the adventures of Rynn and Arokh some years after the original game finished. The plot is simple stuff: you must restore the Dragon Order and overthrow the dark lord.

That belies the remarkable advances made with the sequel. You'll be stunned by the character animation (individual finger movement can be clearly discerned) and the excellent levels that are modelled right down to the individual blades of grass.

Even the in-game camera - so often the one thing that ruins an otherwise excellent adventure - manages to keep the action on screen and intelligible at all times.

Sony deserves to do well with this title.

In fact, it's so good I'm surprised SCEE elected to publish it during the summer when software sales take a dip and role playing games, with their vast demands on your time, are less popular.

With that and the shadow of Final Fantasy looming large, it seems as though Drakan: The Ancients' Gates could become something of an undiscovered gem - a bit like G-Police on the original PlayStation.

The special effects bibles

THE PROBLEM with using a PC to manipulate your photos is the steep learning curve of so many software packages.

Adobe Photoshop - now in its seventh edition - is the industry standard digital image programme. With this software on your PC there is virtually nothing you can't do with your pictures.

But there's one big problem. Digital photo novices will find the sheer scale and complexity of Photoshop a massive turn-off. The learning curve is as steep as the Eiger.

If you are lucky enough to own a copy but don't know much about the digital darkroom there's only one solution - a good book.

How To Use Photoshop 7: Visually In Full Colour (Que Publishing) has been revised and updated to take account of Adobe's latest version.

It's a gentle introduction to a very complex package, profusely illustrated in colour throughout. For anyone afraid to tackle digital darkroom projects because they are complete novices, this is the book to go for.

Photoshop 7 Down & Dirty Tricks (New Riders Publishing) by Scott Kelby is a heavily revised edition of an earlier tome which has become something of a special effects "bible" among devotees of Adobe's software.

Kelby doesn't bog you down with unnecessary explanation; instead he cuts straight to the chase providing clear, concise instructions on how to achieve stunning pictures.

In fact, with armed with this book you feel like a five-year-old let loose in a sweet shop. Kelby reveals the secrets of so many cool effects that it's impossible to decide which one to do first. Even better, not a single effect failed to come off - a sure sign of good proof reading.

If you want to dazzle your friends with your Photoshop skills then this is the book.

Photoshop 7 Magic (New Riders Publishing) is written by no less than four different authors. The instant gratification to be had in Down & Dirty isn't here; instead, Photoshop Magic adopts a patient approach to building up better photos. There's a number of useful tutorials on how to use version seven's new features, particularly the greatly enhanced brush tools.

Photoshop Most Wanted (Friends of Ed) gathers together the secrets of the most often request tricks by users of versions five and six in one 300 page book. Software experts Al Ward and Colin Smith write regularly on this subject and the best effects have been culled from their postbag.

It's a book aimed at the enthusiastic amateur and the seasoned Photoshop vet alike - everyone should find something new. As with Down & Dirty, the focus is on results and not laborious explanations of the many tools available. The only drawback is the lack of an in-book CD. If you want to follow the instructions using the same illustrations, they have to be downloaded from the web.

If you are familiar with an earlier version of Photoshop then Photoshop 7 Upgrade Essentials (Vicki Loader and Barry Huggins) is almost certainly the time-saver you need.

With this book in one hand and a mouse in the other you'll be able to jump straight in at the deep end with your new software. Newbies will find it too advanced, though.

* All these books are available from larger bookstores and most branches of PC World.