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Games and Internet

PLAYSTATION Ever body's Golf 2

(Sony) 29.99 t at it t * Everybody’s Golf 2 is yet more proof that what counts in a game is not graphical prowess, celebrity licensing or hip-cool soundtracks but pure playability. The game looks adequate, lacking the motion capture players and exact-to-Within-a-foot PGA courses of other titles, yet has captured the essence of golf beautifully. Undulating fairways, ball~gobbling trees and stepped greens are displayed in a Simple and highly effective manner. Control is easy to learn, hard to master, With a full power, sweet spot stroke eliciting a fabulous thwack, as well as an air-punching "Yes! Weather effects may be Wildly unrealistic but they ensure that every round is different.

There is a good selection of game modes, from the season-by-season tournaments to the versus games where beating a character opens them up for player control. Goodies, such as speCialised clubs and balls, can also be won. It w0uld be hard to find any real fault With Everybody's Gole. ObViously, if you hate golf then give it a bodyswerve, but for everyone else, this is as infectious, pleasing and infuriating as games get. (lain DaVidson)

Euro 2000 (Electronic Arts) £34.99 * *

How can this be? EA has been making sports titles since the beginning of time, not least of which are the FIFA games, helping it to a Current market share in excess of 20%. And yet, almost inconceivably, it can still get it so badly wrong. Euro 2000, its latest footie title,

124 THE LIST 25 May—8 Jun 2000

PC Devil Inside (Cryo) £29.99 at: t *

Television is all about survival. Whether it is surviving the wicked winter weather in Castaway 2000, surviving past the £32,000 question on Millionaire or surviving the viciously offensive puns of Richard Whiteley on Countdown, the struggle to hold on to life and sanity is the heart of television. Devil Inside, the new release from Cryo, takes this to the next level.

Dave is a television reporter for The Devil Inside Show. However, he doesn't report on news, politics, sport or even the cute, skateboarding dog stories. Oh no, for The Devil Inside Show is a horror survival game show. Millions tune in every week to see Dave battle all manner of weirdness with only his wits, his weaponry and the ability to change into his demonic alter ego

provoking the odd smile.

Deva, to protect him. Eat your heart out Channel 5. Devil Inside is a third person action adventure in the mould of Lara or ShadowMan. Level after level is explored, villain after villain is despatched as a wafer- thin plot-line unfolds. Where Devil Inside shines is in its spoofery of television. Remove a zombie’s head from its shoulder and the audience whoop in admiration. Face one of the intermittent bosses and game show host Jack T. Ripper will goad you on. These touches keep the whole game trundling forward as well as

Unfortunately, the bones of the game seem to have been neglected. There are glitches aplenty and a control system that would test the patience of a saint.

Tune in to see Dave battle all manner of weirdness

Aiming your laser sighted weapons is frustratingly difficult, with the red dot bobbing up and down randomly and head shots the only guaranteed death- blow requiring a dangerously close distance to gain any kind of accuracy. Unbelievably, neither Dave or Deva can jump, relying on judiciously placed ramps and stairs to mount anything above knee height. It is also recommended that you have a mega-machine to run this. Anything less and the gorgeous level design is lost in poor-resolution hell.

A beautifully presented and genuinely different take

on the usual survival horror titles, Devil Inside is good for a few evenings’ play if you can survive the disappointing niggles. (lain Davidson)

Devil Inside is a different take on survival horror

is so poorly executed it should be, well, executed.

Rarely has a computer game proved so easy to play. Game One: Italy 9, Germany 0. If that is the reSUlt when the

instructions haven’t been read, the controls haven't been memorised and

the sprint button is only discovered in the second half, God only knows

what the scores Will be after a week's play. All the European teams are available, including the ones that were put out at the qualifying stage due to, say, a

play off With

England. But this does nothing to help

' Euro 2000. UEFA Striker has better

animation, the F/FA titles look a whole lot slicker and either of the ISS Pro games play infinitely better. Still, it’s got the license and Will sell more copies than a Britney Spears Playboy special. (lain

DaVidson)

Medievil 2 (Sony) £29.99 at k *

Loose-headed, one-eyed Sir Dan Fortesque is back to save the planet again. Awakened from a lengthy death in a museum in Victorian England, Dan must fight his way out past blunderbuss-toting guards and

living dinosaur fossils to continue his

battle against the evil necromancer Palethorn. The first incarnation of this third-person action adventure was something of a sleeper, taking an age to reach the lofty heights of 800,000 units as its witty humour and black cartoon violence warmed the hearts of the nation.

It is therefore understandable that

' there is little change in Medievil 2. ? Dan's multitude of moves are easily

controlled, as long as you use the

7 analogue stick, With a couple of . added abilities, such as the quick

switching between weapons in

combat, a welcome piece of tweakage. The levels are fun and the irreverent sense of humour associated with the original suffuses everything. However, it gets difficult very, very quickly, turning many off within the first hour of play. Fans of the original will buy this Without question. Others may take some persuading. (lain Davrdson)

Midnight In Vegas (300) £29.99 1k 9. *

Games based on gambling suffer from one, monumental, Shakespearian-size fatal flaw. Money is not involved. Sure, there are internet casinos Where nutters With credit cards and no finanCial conscience can play for real, but home consoles have no such option. And Midnight in Vegas, the casino simulator, is crippled because of it. Playing any of the near-infinite number of games feels like making love wearing a Mr Blobby Suit; initially amusing but ultimately unsatisfying. There is poker, black Jack, slot machines, baccarat, dice and roulette, each sporting a variety of games. Some, like blackjack or poker, require a modicum of skill to play properly, While the slots, for