You've just gotta buy 'em all

WESTWOOD is a company widely credited with starting the whole real-time strategy genre with its landmark title Dune 2 on the Amiga. Although it sounds like a sequel, Dune 2 bore no resemblence to the game that preceded it (a rather tedious graphical adventure by the quirky French outfit Cryo). Instead, it fused the best bits of military strategy with the immediacy of a shoot 'em up to create a compelling and unusual experience.

Westwood immediately began working on an update for the PC that was to become Command and Conquer, one of the biggest-selling games of all time and now a multi-billion dollar licence.

In the UK, another crack Amiga codeshop had taken note of Dune 2's success and set about a real-time strategy (RTS) title with the PC in mind. That company was The Bitmap Brothers and the RTS game was called Z.

Had Z made it into the shops in time, it would have beaten Command and Conquer to the punch. The Bitmap Brothers would have been hailed as the creators of RTS on the PC platform and the world would have been at their feet.

As it was, Z had to be held up because the publisher insisted extra full-motion video sequences be inserted to take advantage of the then-new CD medium. By the time these were finished, Command and Conquer was already flying off the shelves.

Worse still for the Bitmaps, by the time Z did launch the industry was awash with Command and Conquer clones. Z, for all that it did differently, looked like just another pale imitation.

All that was six years ago and now the two companies are at it again. In a strange case of history repeating itself, Westwood and The Bitmap Brothers have both released updates to their first RTS games in the same week. So which one is best? Has Westwood maintained its lead or have the Bitmaps finally got the upper hand?

Just as in 1994 the Westwood title Emperor: Battle For Dune reached stores first, albeit by just a few days.

This is the first true sequel to Dune 2. Dune 2000 was nothing more than an up-date of the original (still with me here?).

For the first time, the game plays out in full three dimensions - one of the main reasons why this title needs a minimum processor speed of 400Mhz and the original could scorch along on a 386. It certainly looks the business with beautifully-rendered planetscapes and highly-detailed characters.

Westwood has also secured the services of real actors to drive the plot along between missions. The acting isn't going to win any BAFTA awards but it's far better than the usual amateur drama nonsense that blights many video games that insist on FMV interludes.

New for 2001 are five new races who can help or hinder depending on the mission you undertake. They add a welcome new element of strategy to a game that's otherwise very much the tradition C&C formula - mine an element, build an army and wipe out the bad guys. With 150 new missions on offer, there's plenty to keep even veteran strategy fans going for awhile.

Z: Steel Soldiers: Steel Soldiers has fewer levels (just 30) and lower system requirements (you can get this title running on a Pentium 266 MHz).

Just like the Dune title, it's gone all 3-D, only the level of interactivity in the British RTS is even greater than its big rival. The camera often swoops right down onto the battlefield and really makes you feel as thought you are part of the action.

Reflections and wonderful particle effects, which make the explosions look quite spectacular, lend Z: Steel Soldiers a real state-of-the-art feel.

So does the artificial intelligence of your computer opponent. Not for this game a stack of troops who are nothing more than cannon fodder. Unless you crush your enemy, the PC will re-group and find new, even more cunning, ways of attacking you.

This time around the tables are changed. Z: Steel Soldiers is the more innovative title - although, as a PC title, it's not without its bugs and our copy took more than one attempt to install correctly. While fans of C&C will feel instantly at home with Emperor: Battle for Dune, the greater challenge lies in the Bitmap's title.

The answer? If you like your strategy games you've no choice: buy 'em both.

SONY may have dropped the price of its PS2 by £30 to £269 but you'd better be quick because the word is that console-only packs are about to be consigned to history.

According to well informed trade mag MCV Sony, is to stop making stand-alone PS2s. In future you'll have to buy one packaged with a game.

The first of these "deals" is likely to centre on the eagerly-awaited Gran Turismo 3. This is fine if you happen to be a fan of driving games but a right pain if you don't like the motoring genre. By coincidence, the pack price is likely to push the PS2 back up to the £299 mark.

Regarding prices, the Game Boy Advance hit shops last week and canny buyers who shopped around could have saved themselves the cost of their first game.

The keenest high street price I have come across so far is £79.99 at Blockbuster Video. Gamers looking to buy a GBA with some accessories should take a long, hard look at their local Dixons, Currys and Electonics Boutique. Depending on what you want, the savings can be substantial.

GIZMO OF THE WEEK

THE Game Boy Advance may have been in the shops for just a week, but those gadget lovers at Wild Things already have a raft of accessories on the way.

One of the best investments has to be the rechargeable £7.99 battery packs and mains adapters which means you will never have to buy a "AA" set again. Wild Things also markets a rather nifty £7.99 car adapter which allows you to power the Nintendo from the car battery.

CHEAT OF THE WEEK

FINDING things a bit tough in the premiership? For an extra £500m in the LMA Manager 2001 kitty, simply type your name as Filthy Rich.