Chasing UFOs in an alien world

EVER since a silver air balloon crashed in a quiet part of New Mexico during a storm in 1947 and sparked an amazing UFO scare, Roswell has enjoyed near-legendary status with flying saucer buffs.

Despite the evidence, which clearly points to a poor military cover-up of a normal weapons test, hundreds of thousands of people have visited the small town convinced a spacecraft once crashed there.

Mention Roswell to the Pentagon today and the army seems genuinely bemused.

"We don't seem to have any current information on that case," is the reply. "Why is everybody so interested in Roswell anyway?"

Because people can't stand the truth. They prefer to believe in aliens from outer space. Squint hard enough against the bright desert sun, true believers claim, and you can still see the scorch marks on the red-streak rock where the saucer landed.

Hub Corn, whose ranch happens to contain the so-called landing site, reckons he doesn't give folks the hard sell.

"People seem happy to be here," he says. "They seem happy to believe."

It's a surprise then, that the games community has taken so long to come up with a title based on the so-called "Roswell Incident".

Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends is based on a moderately successful TV show screened by the BKN, or Big Kid Network in North America.

Interest in the Roswell story is still strong. Some 85 million viewers tuned into the programme when it aired - almost as many as watch The X-Files.

Regardless of how well received the programme may have been, Ubisoft is expecting big things of the PlayStation interpretation. Developed by Climax (much acclaimed for Battlezone: Rise of the Black Dogs) for Red Storm Entertainment, the game of the TV series is aimed at the eight to 15-year-old audience.

The idea is straight from the TV show. Aliens have been around on earth centuries before the Roswell crash, not as bug-eyed green blobs but mythical creatures of the night, such as goblins, werewolves and vampires (hence the title).

Your character, Nick Logan, is a bounty hunter recruited for his alien tracking abilities. Sh'Lainn Blaze is a double agent who defected from the alien side (she's a banshee) to work for mankind.

Between them they have to investigate alien sightings, track down the monsters and put an end to their antics.

The 15 levels set in five different locales are surprisingly large and your characters will do a lot of hunting between the action. There's a link story that unfolds between levels and each puzzle solved reveals a bit more about the alien menace.

In some ways it reminded me of a sanitised version of Nightmare Creatures - the 15-rated slash 'em up that came out a couple of years ago - and some unkind critics will no doubt dub Roswell Conspiracies "Resident Evil lite".

While the graphics may be a bit rough around the edges, judged by today's PS2 standards, the game has an interesting stylized 2D/3D look reminiscent of Japanese anime cartoons. Although the characters are straight out of the TV series, they inhabit a fully three dimensional gaming environment.

The result is a game that shares much in common - visually at least - with Fear Effect and Jet Set Radio.

As an action adventure, Roswell Conspiracies is good fun and any game that tries to be a bit different in the dying days of the PSX is to be applauded.

Sudden Strike Forever. Format: PC CD-ROM. Publisher: CDV. £19.99

STRATEGY fans helped make Sudden Strike one of the biggest games on the PC last year - and with good reason.

Sudden Strike's blend of fine graphics, realistic units and cunning strategy made it one of the finest real-time strategy titles since the seminal Command and Conquer five years earlier.

Successful computer games don't just beget sequels. They also spawn add-on discs with extra levels, new units and refined artificial intelligence. Such add-ons tread a fine line between a worthy addition to a good game and a straightforward cash-in.

Sudden Strike Forever adds all manner of tweaks and additions to what was already hailed as a classic. Even the interface has been cleaned up to make the game even more exciting and intuitive to play. With the add-on loaded, Sudden Strike Forever seems more like a genuine sequel than a polished-up version of the original. The four new campaigns are genuinely different and there's even a map editor which allows you to create new ones.

Unsurprisingly, a full-blown sequel is on the way. Until then, Sudden Strike Forever will do nicely.

ALSO RELEASED THIS WEEK:

Electronic Arts re-releases a trio of older games at low prices. Cricket 2000, F1 2000 and FIFA 2000 are all worthy titles likely to appeal if you are a sports fan. Also out this coming week are Shogan: Total War on PC and the bizarre-sounding Snoopy Tennis on the Game Boy Colour.

CHAT OF THE WEEK

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing on PlayStation is good fun but to give yourself an edge just type in: BRONZE to select the Kemo Claw character.

GIZMO OF THE WEEK

Everyone agrees those wind-up radios that work on little more than elbow grease are a good thing. If only a monophonic radio weren't so depressingly old hat.

The good news for gadget lovers everywhere is that Freeplay - the company behind those radios - is looking to extend its wind up technology to other areas.

First up is likely to be a mobile phone. Freeplay has entered into an agreement with Motorola to develop a phone charger than can be adapted to work with scores of battery-powered mobiles already on sale.

If the development goes to plan, instead of plugging your mobile into the mains when it goes flat you'll be winding it up.