Red Alert 2, published by EA/Westwood Studios

SPECS: Pentium II 266MHz, 64MB RAM, 350MB Hard Disk, 2MB 3D video card, 16-bit Sound-Card, 4xCD-ROM

Another day, another sequel. But the difference with this is that it can't be as bad as the original Red Alert can it?

Fortunately, no. In fact, it is at the other end of the scale. This game is well on the way to taking over from Tiberian Sun as the king of the real-time strategy scene. The style of the game and the gameplay itself are exactly the same, apart from the usual makeover for the graphics and interface, and plenty of new units.

The story behind Red Alert 2 is that the Russians and Americans are all friendly now, but the Russian leader's right-hand man is an evil piece of work who can control people by taking over their minds. Oh dear. He sets about trying to take over America, and you are sent to stop him. Or, on the other hand you can take charge of the Soviets and take over the US of A.

Red Alert 2 certainly puts up a challenge to even the hardened RTS gamer, but where the game really excels is the skirmish feature. As in Tiberian Sun, you can create your levels and choose a side to play with. But whereas in Tiberian Sun, you could play as one of two sides, in Red Alert 2 you can play as one of eight sides, each with their own special unit or building, such as the British sniper, the Russian Tesla tank and the French grand cannon. Amazing!

Graphics 4/5

Sound 4/5

Gameplay 5/5

Gamespan 5/5

Overall 5/5