UEFA: Euro 2000, Sony PlayStation, £44.99
Hardly surprising, is it? Euro 2000 is just around the corner and Electronic Arts (EA) churns out the game to accompany it. If you already have FIFA 2000, there isn't a lot here worth shelling out for.
What it does mean is you can play through the actual qualifying rounds (or randomise them) and endeavour to be crowned European Champions. But for all practical purposes, these `changes' are superficial and there isn't much improvement to the gameplay itself. The Skill Drill is a welcome new feature, particularly if you haven't played a football sim before. It shows you, for instance, how to volley the ball, which certainly beats consulting the manual.
FIFA 2000 is a very good soccer game and so is this. But if you already have FIFA 2000, there is no need for this - unless of course you think football is a more serious matter than life or death.
The eagerly awaited PlayStation 2 is scheduled for a simultaneous release in the US and Europe on October 26th. It will cost $299 in the US and probably £299 in the UK. In Ireland it might cost more although Sony Computer Entertainment Ireland is hoping to keep the price under £350. The games are expected to be sold at a similar price to current games.
Almost two million units have already been sold in Japan and Sony will make one million units available on October 26th. Demand is bound to exceed supply in what Sony is calling the biggest consumer product launch of the decade.
The PlayStation 2 will support audio CD, DVD-Video and current PlayStation games and 270 titles for the console are currently in development worldwide.
The new console will also incorporate a bay for a 3.5-inch hard disk drive and an expansion unit for interfacing with a network. Sony is hoping its new console will attract more than just gameplayers and wants the new machine to be perceived as the one which brings together games, music and movies.
Although Ireland is Sony's most successful per capita territory in Europe, with over 500,000 PlayStations sold here, the Official PlayStation Magazine currently on sale is an English publication. Not only is the content aimed at the British market but the strength of sterling means you could pay almost £8 for the reading privilege.
This week, however, the Official Irish PlayStation Magazine (£4.99), with a CD, will be in the shops. This month's CD will include playable demos of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Muppet Race Mania and Euro 2000.
BLEEM, which is the piece of software that enables you to play PlayStation games on a PC, is now available as bleem! - for Dreamcast. Sega Dreamcast owners will have the ability to play 100s of titles originally written for PlayStation. Bleem! promises to emulate the PlayStation games but with Dreamcast-enhanced graphics resolution and effects.