X Box

Far Cry : Instincts

The hit PC game converted for console action. One of the greatest Xbox games for eye candy - the graphics are a notch above everything else seen on this machine. From crawling through the undergrowth to driving vehicles at high speed on land, water and even in the air. Attach a multiplayer mode, both splitscreen and xbox live, and a map editor to create your own hunting arenas for further gaming once the 1 player story-mode is complete. An added twist is the "Predator" style injections you are given throughout the game which enhance your senses enabling picking up the scent of humans, jumping long distances and power-punching. You can play the game gung-ho fashion, guns ablaze, or stealthily, laying traps with spiked branches just like John Rambo. Plenty of game action with good enemy AI = recommended purchase.

Burnout 3 : Takedown

Superb 2nd sequel to Burnout. This time, instead of waiting for your burn-meter to fill before you can kick-in the overdrive, you can use your nitro-fuel as soon as you get some which is just about all the time if you drive daringly. Close shaves, driving on the wrong side of the road, pushing other vehicles into each other - just a few of the ways to increase your burnout fuel. The graphics whizz by at sickening pace, blurring with speed, and the crashes cause absolute mayhem and carnage. Various game types enhance the playability, with plenty of races, one-on-ones and crash specific courses. One of the few games that allow a custom soundtrack so you can race to your favourite speed-thrash tunes.

Time Splitters : Future Perfect

A huge improvement on Timesplitters 2's motion-sickness inducing bouncy graphics. A great adventure story has you whipping back and forth through various time zones, throwing you in a mix of high-octane action with a few simplistic puzzles and a sprinkling of stealth. Each zone has weapons specific to the era and feature great graphics and amusing characters. The story cuts inbetween levels are laugh-out-loudable with your Vin Diesel-a-like action hero making a fool of himself all the time. Aside from the story-mode game there are, like its predecessor, plenty of arcade style mini-games which unlock more games the better your score - shooting the heads of ever-increasing waves of psycho-zombie-monkeys anyone? Even team games are covered, of which the Assault game is excellent, especially with a few players utilising the splitscreen. A bargain of a game, especially when you get a copy for less than a fiver, like I did.

Rallisport Challenge

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Like Colin McRae's games but with break-neck speed for added unrealism. Why take corners slowly compromising finishing times when you can hurtle around them creating bigger skid marks than in your underwear. This game is truly for speed freaks who do not know what a brake pedal is for. According to reviews of this game it is supposed to be very realistic in its feel for the car. I cannot confirm this, not being a driver myself, but you can certainly tell the difference when you slide off a mud surface onto tarmac and suddenly find yourself accelerating over the side of a cliff. The graphics are superb and look almost life-like though the sound effects are mostly different engine noises (for anoraks, I think) with limited crash and burn sounds, which is a shame. Gameplay is great with a variety of style-types from career mode to one-off action sprees to keep you hooked and coming back for more. Further levels open the further your career goes. The added bonus, like many Xbox games, you can use your own soundtrack from songs you have stored on the Xbox's hard-drive. Great for drowning out the droning engine noise. I got my copy second-hand for a penny less than a tenner but it is on a budget label for twenty notes anyway (for richer folk). Go buy.

The Thing

A head walking on spider-like legs! You gotta be fuckin' kiddin' ! No we ain't. This game is survival horror, much like the Resident Evil games, but set as a sequel to the John Carpenter classic movie. Use your team as best you can to get through the gruelling monster filled Arctic base remains and the underground laboratories. Careful that your team members do not go mad and gun crazy, keep them sweet by giving them weapons and ammo and ensuring their health is okay. You will need their support. Within 5 minutes of the game you will come across small "things" that are blobs of bloody flesh on legs that jump about face-hugger style. Further in come the big undescribable "things" that need shooting and flaming. Then you get the human variety (or team members who change) that really give chase. Their are 4 end-of-level bosses to defeat which are of the room-size variety. This game is very addictive to the point where your joypad exits through a closed window. The difficulty level increases further than maximum. Wait for the long haul down the side-platform of the square shaft where soldiers, things and gun turrets blast you to pieces to finally find you later have to run back up it while it is on fire and everything is exploding. Save points are regular until later stages of the game when you really wish you'd saved some health packs. Bastard. Graphics and sound are just what you expect of a scare-the-shit-out-of-you atmospheric horror experience. Again, budget label for £20 or second-hand for about £8.

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XIII

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Fantastic comic-style FPS. Follow the mission-based storyline along its espionage route in full-on cartoon glory, just like it's stepped out of the pages of a graphic novel. Plenty of shooting and stealth action with a plethora of "BLAM"s and "KAPOW"s without being Batman camp. This game can also be played online, if you can afford to, or just with/without mates on one console. There is a good Bot mode for the Billy-no-mates where you can take on various foes in the different maps available. The graphics and sound are ace and along with the addictive gameplay make for a good few hours entertainment. Quite a few hours.

Brute Force

Team-based action strategy shooter adventure. Brute Force covers most genres. The game runs via a mission based storyline but can also be played co-operatively with mates or as an all-out fragfest against one another. Graphics are brilliant often making you believe you are watching some new TV show, like the Dan Dare CG remake. Sound is good too with voices of characters making the odd humorous quip when you're in a tight situation. You control upto 4 players and can switch between them at anytime. Each have their own special ability of which Stealth is coolest being just like Predator. However, most of the game is in 3rd person perspective with it only switching to 1st person if you are aiming with certain weapons. This does hinder multiplayer games when your half or quarter of the screen is filled by character graphics. This is a small excuse though as Brute Force is a great game and easy to master. A second-hand copy is usually about £12 and falling.

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Splinter Cell

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I've not yet come across a bad X Box game but Splinter Cell is definately one of the very best. Forget the PC version and the blocky PS2 version, this is the one to play. 3rd person sneakathon as you infiltrate various buildings, like the CIA, to obtain information and take-out enemies without them even knowing. The game is very difficult in places but practice makes perfect and soon you'll be inching along walls, hiding in the shadows and grabbing people from behind. Then you can do these activities in the game too. Splinter Cell is very much like Metal Gear Solid but in a more realistic way. Once you start playing Splinter Cell you will not be able to put it down, unless you're absolutely crap that is. £7.99 is the usual second-hand price but is also the new price from some outlets. The sequel Pandora Tomorrow has just been released and looks even better.