Prince of Persia 3D, PC CD-Rom, £34.99
In 1989 Jordan Mechner created a game that became an all-time classic. Prince of Persia revolutionised many aspects of game-playing and showed the way for modern games like Tomb Raider. The 2D platformer was one of the first games to use a health bar. The character jumped, ran and stopped in a more lifelike fashion than anything seen before because it used motion capture techniques. For the first time when you stopped the character, he slowed down first rather than coming to an abrupt halt.
It was typical of the times that Mechner created the story, characters, and levels for Prince of Persia, programmed the game and drew the graphics. It fitted nicely onto one diskette.
Prince of Persia 3D, on the other hand, comes on 2 CDs and, like almost every other modern game, was created by a team of people. This time Mechner was merely the captain.
Although slightly more complicated than the original (or the 1993 sequel) Prince of Persia 3D is still essentially a simple game. One minute you're running merrily through some of the superbly designed levels, the next a spring-loaded blade cuts into your stride, literally. Such traps abound and although some are more obvious saving the game regularly will prevent a lot of frustration.
Prince of Persia may have inspired games like Tomb Raider, but Prince of Persia 3D in turn borrowed one or two ideas from Lara's adventures. It manages to bring the game right up to date by retaining essential ingredients of the original without losing any of its old charm. Regal stuff indeed.
[Recommended: PII 300/64MB/3D card/Win 9x]
GP500, PC CD-Rom, £34.99
Motorbike racing is the poor relation of car racing both in the real world and in gaming. There are not very many motorbike simulations around, and even fewer are any good. GP500 is therefore a rarity, as a finer racing sim (bike or car) would be hard to find. Behind its sublime graphics, GP500 is a serious simulation and perhaps only fanatics will have the patience to realise its potential. It does offer the beginner a great deal of help, however.
Arcade mode, the ability to handicap other riders, automatic brakes, signs showing when to brake, skid warnings, and automatic leaning all help, but these bikes are still extremely difficult to handle.
Only when the game has been mastered a little that it begins to shine. The automatic leaning should be the first aid to go. Without it, not only does the player have to steer around corners, he or she has to learn to lean the other way at the same time. They will also have to lean back while braking and then forward when accelerating to minimise lap times.
Multiple camera angles, an excellent replay facility, the ability to tweak the bike to suit the rider's style and the nature of the track are just some of the options available. The weather never varies, but trying to run these machines in the wet would seem like madness anyway.
Great fun for those prepared to dust themselves down more times than they will care to remember.
[Recommended: Pentium 266/64MB/3D card/Win 9x]