Open Tennis 2000, published by Cryo for PC

SPECS: Pentium 233, 220MB free hard disk space, 4MB 3d accelerator, 32MB RAM, 8xCD-ROM

STILL pining for Wimbledon? You could do far worse than pick up Open Tennis 2000, which easily lays claim to the title of best tennis game on any platform.

Large, realistic graphics and all the sound effects you'd expect to hear from a real match combine with what is, initially, a really unusual control system, but which ultimately allows you to play some cracking shots.

Rather than moving your player to the ball and then playing the shot, pressing the key to play the shot will move your player towards the ball and then the direction keys give the shot its angle, plus the desired spin.

Once you get used to it, it's a splendid game. The only thing that's missing from the box is the strawberries and cream.

Overall 4/5

STEPHEN HUNT

Chicken Run, published by Activision for PC

SPECS: Pentium 166, 32MB RAM, 4xCD-ROM, 1MB graphics card, 75MB hard disk space.

SEEN the movie? Loved it? Need to remind yourself of it at every turn? Then this is the product for you. This is a collection of screensavers, desktop themes and little games for your PC. Ideal for those with a hankering to have images of Ginger and her pals on their machine. The games are quite fun, too, one involving you moving a trampoline around to try and bounce hens over the fence of Tweedie's compound and the other asking you to lay down planks over holes to help the hens dash to freedom. Undemanding stuff, but quite fun and with a certain cool.

Overall 3/5

STEPHEN HUNT

Martian Gothic: Unification, published by Take 2 Interactive for PC and PlayStation

PC SPECS: Pentium 266, 32MB RAM, 4MB 3d accelerator, 450MB hard disk space, 4xCD-ROM

THIS rather splendid horror game merges the zombie horror-fest you'd find in the Resident Evil series with the kind of setting more likely found in a Ray Bradbury novel.

You take control of three members of a rescue team sent to a Martian research station, where a virus has broken loose, turning the occupants into monsters. You can switch between characters at any stage but, as you enter the station, your characters become infected with the virus themselves. The progress of the virus is accelerated by close contact, so your team members must stay away from each other to stay alive.

The game is very neatly constructed, and is quite heavy on sound effects. This is one of those titles which will have you straining to listen to background noises and carefully check the dialogue.

The puzzles are neatly done, and while Martian Gothic doesn't match the high drama of the Resident Evil series, it has a certain sci-fi chic all its own.

Overall 4/5

STEPHEN HUNT

STEPHEN HUNT

Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles, published by LucasArts for PlayStation.

When LucasArts release a new Star Wars game you expect something special or even groundbreaking, whatever the genre. Unfortunately Jedi Power Battles proves an unwanted exception to this rule.

You choose one of five Jedi Knights, or two if you play with a friend, and battle through scenes from Star Wars: Episode I.

This is a basic beat-'em-up platformer and has very little to offer in terms of game play. To make matters worse the game is difficult to get into, as even the first level can take lots of time to overcome.

The sound and graphics are good, but really I have come to expect more from the LucasArts team, much more! Use the force, Luke, leave this one on the store shelf.

Overall 2/5

SEAN HARTE