and English (Tarika grew up believing it was a Malagasy song!). The delicate voices. earthy strings. bass and percussion make it a cult classic. The upbeat Koba has marked Indonesian culinary inspiration. while 'Aloka' is an irresistible lament.
Tarika are Madagascar‘s top group. Possible civil war there following recent fixed elections means the release of this CD in Madagascar with gigs for the opening of their newly built arts centre in the capital are on hold. Enjoy their music and think of them. (Jan Fairley)
GARAGE PUNK THE CATHETERS
Static Delusions And Stone-Still Days (Sub Pop) .00.
Is there a factory churning out explosive garage punk somewhere? I rigging feels like it. and here are the latest bunch of snotty shouters. The Catheters, fresh outta Seattle to recreate that MCS vibe all over again. Stat/c Delusions. . . is the band's debut release in the UK, and it displays a considerable debt to their Sub Pop forebears Mudhoney as sick vocal squeals mess about with incessant squalling guitar riffage to create a frantic. dumb-ass riot of thrashy. sleazy. idiotic punk rock. Just because this shit is ten -a-penny at the moment, doesn't mean that it doesn't still kick considerable ass. (Doug Johnstone)
ALSO RELEASED Buffalo Torn Besides MAD) US indie bruisers release a posthumous mixed bag of rare and B- side selections.
The Suicide Machines Steal This Record (Hollywood) S(:u//y noise fest from these obvioust dishonest rocking Amercians.
Pitchshifter PSI (Sanctuary) One-time industrial stars of the show sound a little fired on this new platter of metal dirges.
Pina Quick l ook (Real World) Perky singer/song- writer debut. Ihink Natalie Merchant but younger and more fun. Chris lssak Always Cot Ion/gift (Reprise) Beguiffed country crooner does more dreamy, late night balladry.
games@list.co.uk
PC JEDI KNIGHT II:
JEDI OUTCAST (Lucasarts) £29.99 0”
Why is this not great? It has all the ingredients. A lone Jedi warrior, a cargohold of Star Wars weapons. utilising the first person view. the exciting Iightsaber. wielded in the third person. and as much Star Wars mythos as you can shake a gaffi stick at. T here are Force Powers to experiment with, including that throat gripping thing, Stormtroopers, R2 units, TIE lighters, a Sith Lord and a story that traverses the galaxy. Yet it all fails to gel. Lightsaber combat is a bit of a random affair. I aser blasts have a tendency to wander off target. The force Powers are difficult to exploit due to some clumsy key mapping. Stormtroopers are downright thick while enemy Jedi move like the wind. The levels are a little dull at times and the pacing is all wrong. In the end, exploring and fighting as a Jedi swings wildly from the sublime to the ridiculous. Which is never great.
PS2
LMA MANAGER 2002 (Codemasters) £34.99 0...
A football management game stands or falls not on the big teams but on the minnows. Working your way up from the bottom is the only way to play. and when the bottom is wonky. the top isn't worth dealing with. l MA Manager 2002 suffers from this.
lake Partick Thistle. Ihree games into the season they recewe an offer of $7,660,000 from Airdrie for a defender. liven if we ignore the fact that Airdrie are
inches away from
disappearing due to
financial problems. 1 £660,000 could buy you
an entire First Division team at the moment. Which makes the great management structure.
fantastic game visuals.
impressive depth and endless playability seem a little shaky. Doesn't it? Or could it be that the
envious eyes of a Partick
Thistle fan have coloured
his opinion of what
could be the very best
football management simulation on any
console? Hmmmm.
PS2 EVERBLUE (Sony) £39.99 0
There are two types of weird games. Some require a great deal of trust on the part of the publisher. as they gamble on the contents of someone's head. Would you have invested in let/is when it was just an idea on paper? The other group is less of a gamble. and publishers can see immediately if they are possible and/or playable. Which is why (verb/ire ever seeing the light of day is such a surprise.
This is a scuba diving simulation. l xcept you can't see the treasure you are diving for, relying instead on the pinging of a sonar device. And that sonar device only detects certain elements like wood or clay. You sell your booty to pay for more advanced equipment, allowmg you to dive deeper for more treasure. See? Doesn't it sound dull? Would you inject your money into such a project? Then why would you buy it in the shops?
(Iain DaVIdson)
ALSO RELEASED Virtua Fighter 4 (PS2 Sega £139.99) Beat- 'em- up at its best.
ISS 2 (PSI? Konami 5‘39. 99) Fifa watch out. Deus Ex (P82 E/dos 5139.99) A long time coming.
GTA 3 (PC Roe/(star 5‘2999) Criminal may- hem on PC.
Duke Nukem Manhattan Project (PC) Take? 5‘ (9.99) Outrageous FPS.
Games
I IAI il)W/\l it NINTENDO GAMECUBE £129
Is it any coincidence that critics have rated the final placings in the console wars as first: P82, second: Xbox and third: GameCube when that is the order they have arrived in? Sony has had a year to convert its massive PlayStation user base to its next-gen console before any serious competition arrived. Then came the new kid on the block, Bill Gates and his Xbox of tricks, promising the world. Finally, Nintendo trundles in to pick up the scraps.
Can it really be that simple? Anyone who has owned a Nintendo machine in the past will tell you ‘no’. They will argue that the Nintendo is and always has been the gamer’s machine. Since the NES, the most original, innovative, imaginative and downright infectious games have graced Nintendo consoles. And the GameCube promises to follow that trend.
In the technology stakes, the GameCube is hardly a groundbreaker. It is small and neat, attractive to the eye and comes in a variety of colours, but under the hood it is a bit of a diesel. However, as those Nintendophiles will scream at you, size doesn’t matter, it’s what you do with it that counts. And the 60 does an awful lot.
The release titles certainly look fantastic. Luigi’s Mansion is almost as inviting as Mario 64 was before it, while Pikmin and Super Monkey Ball carry on the tradition of uniquely playable madness. Star Wars Rogue Leader and Biohazard combine to stop the whole thing being too kiddy.
But the real kicker is the price. The GameCube is farcically cheap and could very well persuade many that simply choosing one console to own is a thing of the past. Brand loyalties should mean nothing nowadays, with cherry picking the finest games our only priority.
Which means all those critics have been wasting our time, damn them. (lain Davidson)
. - ‘ ‘Tlle Snare The Sin_,- May
Live Dates 2002
13th June
16th June 0 17th June - 18th June -
6th May - London Royal Festival Hall - Glasgow ('ottiers Theatre
(With (Iomeuus) Brighton l’avillion Theatre
London Cargo London ('argo
11th June o Manchester Hop And Grape 12th June - Leeds Rocket
Tickets available from Wayahead on 0871 2200260 or go to wwwgtgsandtourscom
mnvlmnmrjnfo t www.mute.com
9 1’3 Mm. I’i‘t‘.’ THE LIST 109