Tomb Raider III: Adventures Of Lara Croft, Sony PlayStation, £49.99
Anyone who has not been hanging out on one of Jupiter's moons for the last few years should know all about Ms Croft. After a successful debut in Tomb Raider and a blockbuster follow-up, Lara returns in what is billed as her most daring adventure to date.
She faces traps, puzzles and enemies once again as she tries to locate four mysterious artifacts fashioned from the heart of an ancient meteorite. En route she travels from the jungles of India to the cooler climates of Antarctica, into the Nevada desert (Area 51) and to the rain-swept city of London.
Improvements to previous adventures are to be expected and they include graphic enhancements such as rippling water and reflections. Lara also gets to jump on a quad bike, use a kayak and control an underwater propulsion unit - nice touches to try to keep monotony at bay.
Lara has some new items in her arsenal as well, notably the desert eagle and rocket launcher. In answer to criticism that she couldn't move very well, she can now dash, crawl and even swing from overhead frames.
This is a terrific game and fans will certainly lap it up. But Tomb Raider III is haunted by the success of the previous titles and as a consequence, it can feel formulaic.
Half-Life, PC CD-Rom, £34.99.
FEW games ever live up to their hype. Half-Life is that rare breed of game which drags its genre up into another dimension and forces everyone else to do better.
It will be compared to Quake, Resident Evil, and Jedi Knight but in fact, it soaks up the best of these and other games - and then adds enough toppings for a veritable feast.
In Half-Life, it's not a matter of shooting first and asking questions later. Being too triggerhappy may dispose of someone who could help the player to get out of a tight spot later on. Eliminating enemies is tougher than usual anyway, mainly because they do some thinking for themselves, and no, that doesn't mean they just duck when bullets come in their direction. Events occur in the game whether the player is there to witness them or not. This gives a real sense of being immersed in the game - and immersed you will become.
The graphics are sublime, particularly with a 3D card (it kindly does not require one) and a speedy Pentium to run it on. Although it supports multi-player games, those seeking single-player fun might well wait half a life for something as good as this to come around again. [Required: Pentium 133/24MB/ Win95-98]
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D PC CD-Rom, £34.99.
AFTER blowing up the Death Star, Luke Skywalker has little time to celebrate. Set between the original Star Wars movie and The Empire Strikes Back, Rogue Squadron sees the player take on the role of Luke alongside 12 of the most skilled starfighter pilots.
What is immediately apparent about Rogue Squadron is that the emphasis is on fun. There's no need to labour over manuals or to go through any tutorials. It's just jump into the ship (X-Wing, YWing, A-Wing, etc) and get straight into the action.
Fans of that other Lucas Arts title Tie Fighter will undoubtedly find it very simplistic and pretty short. For those, on the other hand, who don't want to "learn" how to play a game and just want something with fast action and intuitive gameplay, Rogue Squadron does admirably. Graphics are good without being outstanding, but the musical score . . . well, it's Star Wars. [Required: Pentium 166/32MB/3D accelerator/Win95-98]
Tomb Raider III cheats (PlayStation) Enter the following codes (quickly) while playing the game.
Skip level: L2, R2, L2(2), R2,L2, R2, L2, R2, L2(4), R2, L2, R2(4), L2. Lara should say "Nope".
All weapons, medkits, flares and ammo: L2, R2(2), L2(4), R2, L2, R2(2), L2, R2(2), L2(2), R2, L2(2), R2. Lara should scream.
All Secrets: L2(5), R2, L2(3), R2, L2, R2, L2(2), R2, L2(2), R2, L2(2). Lara should say "Ahhhh".