SCANNER
PC PREVIEW Euro League Football (Dinamic) £30 from Mar.
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Premier division: Euro League Football
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Ever since the release of the first Championship Manager game, football management has been one of the hardest genres for game producers to tackle. Such was the detailed simplicity — leading to massive, open-ended complexity — of all the CM titles, subsequent challengers have looked sadly inadequate. It will take something pretty special, or very different, to usurp the current champ. Spanish-based Dinamic reckon that they might just have the answer.
Due for release in March, Euro League Football promises to offer more to the budding manager than any other title to date. At the most basic level, ELF's big selling point is the fact that you can choose to manage, play, or both. Menu-based tactical control gives way to a very impressive SD football sim, featuring all the bells and whistles of a game like FIFA. All the players follow their pre-match orders as usual but are assisted, or hindered,
by your direct intervention. With a little practice, this could make the difference between a good team and a great team. But, then again, you can choose to ignore this entirely and concentrate on management.
The level of detail in the game is quite breathtaking. If advance word is to be believed, any team in Europe can be chosen as your surrogate club. From there, your level of involvement is variable - from total control of team, reserves, transfers, finances, sponsorship and training to what delicate comestibles they sell in the North Stand. All of these options are easily accessible through some beautifully created menus and sliding pages. That is one thing Dinamic have got right. The entire game looks utterly professional, achieving an ease on the eye that CM would kill for.
However, Dinamic were the brains behind Premier Manager 99, a management game which fell very short of its hype. Let's hope that they have playtested Euro League Football to death. And, though it would be a massive shock, would it be so bad if Euro League Football actually proved to be better than Championship Manager? (lain Davidson)
mISSIOnS, for example, persuade you that flying a billion dollar plane is as easy as riding a bike. Little touches like the pilot groaning when you pull high Gs only suck you in deeper.
You'll need a high end PC and a kick-
I ass joystick to appreciate it fully, but
fresh-faced rookies and battle-scarred
skyjocks alike Will find Jane’s USAF a
joy to own. If only every genre oozed
such class. (ID)
PLAYSTATION
South Park Rally (Acclaim) £29.99 Hui:
After the first-person shooter and the 3 party quiz game, Acclaim have now
decided to bring the cheeky rudeness of South Park to the world of cart racing. South Park Rally pits the characters of Comedy Central’s finest creation against each other in a frantic
race around the neighbourhoods of
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the town. All the ridiculously surreal nonsense of the series has been transported to the computer game, including vicious cats, docile cows,
vomiting, Mr Hankey and much, much parping.
Unfortunately, the wealth of well- Ioved material is wasted on what is a decidedly average racing game. The Visuals are ba5ic to say the least, the carts handle like bricks, and the tracks are confusmg and unexciting. Despite a selection of racing modes, each with their own challenges, and many hidden features to discover, there is never any real drive to keep on playing. The multiplayer is fun for five minutes, as long as everyone understands the nuances of the teleVi5ion show.
If you want a quality carting game, get Crash Team Racing. The promise of Cartman on his police tricycle is simply not enough to warrant a purchase. (ID)
_ REVIEWER THIS ISSUE:
Iain Davidson
” ""sfiii'itKfiii'c-i’s'""'m" ‘7
t t i i * Unmissable it r at it Very ood t t * Wort a shot f t t Below average I it You’ve been warned l
Totally wired
The weird world of the Web.
The Six Million Dollar Man
http://www.bugeyedmonster.com/ plastic/smdm/index.shtml
Guys, who can forget him? The little doll it was acceptable to own. Featuring such high technology as a ’telescopic' eye you c0uld look through, and an arm that COUid hit an engine Girls got The Bionic Woman With 'bionic hearing’ and a speCial purse, but she and her nemeSis, Fembot, were rubbish. It's all here, thOugh, perhaps demonstrating that the Web sometimes shows us things best forgotten.
Trailervision http://www.traiIervision.com
This is a site for those who complain that the trailer was better than the film — a collection of trailers for films that don't eXist. Gasp at the A-class, B-mowe trailer for The Man With No Head, who learns to find love. A genuinely funny, inventive Site that may not have you laughing all the way thrOugh, but Will certainly have you laughing your head off at times.
Milky Elephant
http://www.milkyelephantcom
This is worth a look if only for the opening animation. It's pretty much a showreel for three Web artists There are some great Flash animations under the subheading of ’Mumbleboy', especially 'Buttery Donuts' Tripswlle, Arizona.
The World's Only Ass-Kicking Machine
http://www.ired.net/turtle/asskicker/ asskickerhtml
And you probably thought there was more than one . . . But no, this is a Virtual tour of said butt—kicking deVice. It's water-powered and can kick 100 asses per minute. Everything you need to know is here, including 'Why?’
Fax 4 Free http://www.fax4free.com
Remember the humble fax? At the beginning of the telecommunications revolution, it was a miracle compared to the even more humble telex. Although superseded largely by e-mail, there are still times when we need to use one. This Site offers you the ability to use your computer to fax anywhere in the world for only the cost (if any) of being online. No more national (or international) call charges.
Voyage To The Deep
http://wwwocean.udel.edu/deepsea/
Ever fanCied a trip round the ocean floor? Well, a research team from Delaware UniverSity sent down a sub to explore. The site is drenched in fascinating facts ~ did you know the world’s longest mountain range was under the sea? This is where you can meet the strange creatures that live in total darkness (insert Goth punchline of your choice here).
Celebrity Fish Fight
http://www.defused.com/stuff/ html/fishfight.html
Assume the character of a mainstream American celebrity, grab a fish and — in true Python style — set about your mainstream American celebrity opponent. Slap them Sliiy, until their head comes off. You’ll be piscine yourselves laughing. (Steve Blair)
3—17 Feb 2000 THE “ST 99