REVIEWS

Sony announced last week that it had already shifted 13 million PlayStation 2 decks worldwide. Not bad for a console that costs £269 and only went on sale last year. But 13 million is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the splash Nintendo expects to make with the Game Boy Advance.

On sale in UK shops from this week, the GBA is a stunning replacement for the much loved Game Boy - the primitive hand-held that has notched up an incredible 100 million sales already.

The new hand-held is a world away from the Game Boy, with its ancient Z80 processor and all the memory of a goldfish.

In its advanced form, the Game Boy now packs the same processing power as the original PlayStation and, although it can't handle 3-D routines with the same ability, some of the software is virtually indistinguishable.

That's an amazing feat on a hand-held console that could fit in your pocket.

At a stoke, Nintendo has brushed aside contenders to the Game Boy's crown. Rivals like the Tiger Game.Com and the much loved Neo Geo Pocket have already fallen by the wayside. Expect Bandai's Wonder Swan to be next. Even the Sega Nomad (a hand-held Mega Drive never released outside the US) looks a bit sick compared to the GBA.

Initially, the unit comes in that dark purple colour Nintendo used for the Game Boy Color. It's a fair bit bigger than its predecessor - the screen is wider and the unit held horizontally rather than vertically - but it's still comfortable for long periods of game play.

There are two main action buttons and two shoulder-mounted flippers for extra control.

Launch titles include a sterling conversion of F-Zero, a space age racer that helped the Super Nintendo home console make a splash in 1992. With bewilderingly fast graphics that look indistinguishable from the SNES original, more than 20 tracks and a steep difficulty level, this is the title to show off your new machine.

Platform players will be more interested in Castlevania, another SNES update reformated for the smaller screen. A vampire-hunting tale, Castlevania was one of the best SNES games and it's just as good on the GBA.

Waiting in the wings are updates of Yoshi's Story on the N64, hand-held strategy games, and beat 'em ups. Who's to say Konami isn't beavering away on a GBA version of Metal Gear Solid? We live in hope.

Interest in the new Game Boy is running at fever pitch. Perhaps that's why many shops have seen fit to disregard the originally mooted £79.99 selling price and charge upwards of £85 instead. As with all things, early adopters pay dearly for having the newest kit on the block.

Batman: Gotham City Racer. Format: PS1. Publisher: Ubisoft. (£29.99)

SPIDERMAN on the PlayStation did so much to restore faith in superhero licensing deals. It showed that with a little bit of thought and skill, comic book characters could really be brought to life.

In a previous era, Batman on the Mega CD proved there was fun to be had chasing about Gotham City in a souped-up car. Batman: Gotham City Racer from Ubi Soft takes that premise and attempts to update it for the PlayStation generation.

Intercut with impressive sequences from the Batman animated cartoon series, you have to drive the aforementioned Batmobile and the Batcycle on different missions to track down super villainous types who are forever escaping from Arkham asylum.

In the adventure mode, you also have to complete your objectives within a set time limit. Patrol mode allows more freedom for exploration.

The graphics are functional but do the job - although the primary colours and sparsely detailed backdrops reminded me a bit too much of the truly awful Carmageddon on the N64.

The game itself is OK but there's only so much fun to be had from driving around blasting the bad guys, and more than 40 missions is a bit on the unrelenting side. Perhaps that's why Batman on the Mega CD only had a driving episode rather than an entire game. Still, if you enjoyed Spiderman and craved some more super-powered entertainment, Batman: Gotham City Racer is your best choice on the PS1.

Winners Circle. Format: PS1. Publisher: Club Acclaim. (£29.99)

In the states, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are big stars with a string of games to their name. Maybe it's just my age, but I'd never heard of them.

Mary-Kate and Ashley's Winners Circle is something of a result for the PlayStation - the world's first horse riding simulation for a home console. Whether or not the world needs such a thing depends on if you are old enough to know who the titular characters happen to be.

Fans can choose to play as either Mary-Kate or Ashley. I preferred to create my own character before saddling up my steed for some showjumping action.

The game includes a stable full of horses (more than 20 in all) who can be modeled in 3-D for a truly personalised experience. I can imagine that younger girls in particular will enjoy the dressing up aspect - choose your outfit and decorate your horse.

The game itself is very straightforward, there's not much skill involved but Winners Circle is a title aimed at PlayStation first timers, not seasoned gamers.

There's also an interesting educational aspect to the game. You have to groom and care for your horse, even down to cleaning out the stable.

Twenty-somethings who got into the PlayStation for its cool wouldn't be seen dead playing a game like this. On the other hand, the pre-teens will probably love it.

GIZMO OF THE WEEK

JVC - the inventor of VHS - will have digital VHS decks on the shops by this summer.

Costing comfortably less than £1,000 (although nobody is saying by how much) the new machine can record several hours of DVD quality programmes onto a VHS tape.

With recordable DVD due here by Christmas, a new format war looks set to break out.

JVC reckons its D-VHS has the upper hand because owners of old VHS tape libraries can copy their favourite shows to the new machine which incorporates sophisticated circuitry to actually improve the picture.

CHEAT OF THE WEEK

WWF Wrestlemania too tough? For an easier opponent, pause the game and press X, Triangle, R2, Triangle, X.

Published: Saturday, June 23, 2001