This is Football, Sony PlayStation, £39.99
Finding a football game for any console is not a problem - the Dreamcast already has three football titles - but choosing the right one is more difficult. Game producers have to try and balance the gameplay between realism and being fun to play. They don't always get that balance right.
Virtua Striker 2 on the Dreamcast, for instance, is great fun, but could not be recommended for fans of the beautiful game. It is presented in a similar fashion to WWF wrestling, with a cheesy commentary and simple gameplay. That works for some people.
This is Football is a different game altogether - football. It rejects the idea that you can make a player run the length of the pitch in four seconds. That means that the action is slower, but more realistic. Detail is of the essence and team kit, players' faces and hair colour can all be changed.
Patience is required to appreciate This is Football but for those who have it, the game is rewarding. Every conceivable option is included, with over 230 teams and over 5,000 real players. The graphics are not the best ever seen in a football game, but they are more than adequate and the commentary by Clive Tyldesley is good.
While Virtua Striker 2 is good for a quick kick-around, this game suits a more discerning player. Those looking for something in between should find that FIFA 2000 (closer to This is Foot- ball than Virtua Striker 2) is hard to beat.
Armorines, Nintendo 64, £39.99
Once upon a time in the third millennium extraterrestrial life came to earth. The aliens wanted to ransack the planet and in doing that they gave Armorines a story-line.
Often in games, and particularly in first-person shooters, the story-line is included just for the sake of it. This doesn't matter if the game turns out well, but the particularly unimaginative backdrop to Armorines suits the game aptly.
This is not a bad game; it just lacks inspiration. Those who have played Quake or Turok on the N64 will find little here that they have not have seen before.
There are some subtle changes, and even improvements, but they are too low-key to justify buying it for those who have Quake or Turok. This is one for first-person shooter fans who just can't get enough.
Hasbro Interactive has released a collection of games designed to work with email. In Scrabble, for instance, the game is started in a normal way. The first player places letters and they "sends" the turn by email via the scrabble interface to the next player. Provided that they also have email Scrabble installed they can download the "turn", play and send the board on. Upwords and Battleship are available free from www.hasbro.com.
Lara Croft is set to make an appearance on the Dreamcast. Tomb Raider IV - The Last Reve- lation (currently available on PC and PlayStation) has recently been confirmed. Sega promises that she will look better than ever on its console.
The Sims - from the people who gave us Sim City - is due to be released in spring. In the game, players will be able to make friends, have conversations, insult neighbours, fall in love and have children. It also promises to allow players to furnish homes with over 150 pieces of furniture, including hot tubs, swimming pools, pool tables, televisions and (for real class) lava lamps. See www.thesims.com for more information.
Six new deathmatch maps for Unreal Tournament can be downloaded from www.unreal.epicgames.com
games@irish-times.ie