Sled Storm. Publisher: Electronic Arts. Format: PS2. Price: £39.99. Players: 2.

VIDEO game developers are a strange lot. For the past ten years or so they have spent countless hours trying to create realistic sports simulations. Then, when the goal has been achieved, they go crazy with games that laugh in the face of real-world physics.

Take Sled Storm, originally a fun-to-play snow-mobile racing title now transformed into an "extreme sport" game on the PS2.

This is not a game you can take seriously.

One course is set in a crazy theme park complete with ferris wheel and a haunted house; another sees you racing around a volcanic ridge with molten hot lava flows beneath your skis. Sled Storm has more in common with Wipeout or Extreme G than ESPN International Winter Sports.

All the tracks have been designed with maximum velocity and over-the-top tricks in mind. Although the game only gives up an extra six courses to experienced players each one is packed with multiple routes and short cuts to explore so there's plenty of re-playability.

You have to use the shoulder buttons on your pad to pull tricks. Each one awards you points that are banked in a "storm meter" which gives your sled an extra turboboost when it is activated.

Don't go thinking that the new Sled Storm is merely Tony Hawks on ice (or molten lava) - it isn't. This is a racing title first and a stunt fest second.

Getting to grips with your sled can prove tricky.

Initially, you'll wonder why Electronic Arts hasn't made the learning curve just a little bit more gentle as you stuff it into yet another barrier.

But stick at it. The game may be tough but it doesn't cheat. Fall off and you are always in with a chance of getting back into the points provided you take more care. The handling of your sled is excellent, not too dull and not too flighty; after a while you'll be throwing it around with real authority. If you already own SSX or its sequel you'll know what to expect of the new look Sled Storm. It's a fun title, albeit one which is neither original nor particularly cutting edge, and would justify a place in your collection under the heading: "Extreme sports, leave brain at home".

Boxing Fever. Publisher: THQ. Format: GBA. Price: £29.99

THE Game Boy Advance is rapidly becoming home to the greatest hits of the venerable SNES.

Latest title to make the transition from the big screen to the small is Super Punch Out - only now it's called Boxing Fever and is published by THQ not Nintendo.

I'm sure THQ would argue that any similarity is coincidental but anyone who has played the SNES classic will feel right at home here. It's played from the same first person perspective and the characters are similarly outrageous.

I loved Super Punch Out and I enjoyed this title on the GBA. As hand-held button bashers go, it's the world champ!

ONE of the most fun things you can do with a computer is to play around with your favourite photos.

Image programmes like Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro can do remarkable things with the humblest of pictures.

The only drawback is their accessibility. Although software like the Microsoft Picture It series goes out of its way to be friendly, after a while the constant hand-holding leaves many would-be digital darkroom devotees wanting something a bit more sophisticated.

Photoshop, in particular, offers a huge range of tools capable of transforming images. Unfortunately the step from something like Picture It to Photoshop can be too daunting for some.

That's where a book like Photoshop Elements Express by Marilene Oliver and Andrew Beckley comes in handy.

Photoshop Elements is the news image package on the streets. It takes the best tools from the full blown Photoshop programme and offers them at a much lower price - ideal for the keen hobbyist or small businesses.

Written in clear, concise language, Photoshop Elements Express will help you make the most of your new software.

It does so in a way that is both readable and understandable. The book is copiously illustrated. Colour pictures would have been nice - especially when the authors discuss the use of swatches and picking the correct hue etc - but that would have added considerably to the price.

Once you are familiar with your programme why not stretch yourself?

Photoshop Elements One Click Wow! may be a bit of a mouthful but it's a super addition to the standard programme.

The book comes with a CD-ROM that is packed with handy new tools that save you the bother of polishing up your favourite pictures.

To achieve the same effects would take hours and up to 11 different layers so the One Click Wow solution is both time saving and fun to apply.

The book even comes with a trial version of Photoshop Elements so if you haven't bought the programme yet you can give it a try before splashing out.

Even better, users of the full-blown Photoshop package can use the One Click Wow effects in their programme, too (version 6.0 and above).

Photoshop Elements: One Click Wow! is written by Jack Davis and Linnea Dayton. It is published by Peachpit Press and costs £22.90 in the UK.

Both titles should be available from all good booksellers and branches of PC World.

Published: 17/05/2002