Activision Mercinaries (PC) PC Gaming Devices

That's unsurprising, since Call of Duty was put together by a good chunk of the team behind the superb Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and they've pulled plenty more tricks from their sleeves this time around. There are some genuinely terrific levels, at times favouring the all-guns blazing approach, at times rewarding a more precise build up. Either way, it's a hefty yet immensely rewarding challenge.

What's key though is how well it all plays--even more so if you take the game online. Too many major games aren't lasting long enough, yet with Call of Duty, there's a good chance you'll be playing it six months down the line. It's supremely addictive, with some of the finest gameplay of recent times sitting at its heart. With top-notch AI, strong graphics, significant single-player challenge and immersive play, "Call of Duty" raises the bar a good few notches. --Simon Brew

Carrying on where Curse of Monkey Island left off, Escape from Monkey Island starts with Guybrush and his now-wife Elaine Marley-Threepwood, The Governor of the Tri-islands, returning back to the peaceful island of Mêlée, only to find that not all is what it seems, and while they have been battling the high seas, the evil villain Charles L Charles has plotted to take over the islands. All sounds hectic stuff, and you would be right in thinking so, but Escape from Monkey Island is not about being hectic, so sit back, take a sip of that tea you've got next to the computer and let's take it easy.

For those not aware of the series, Monkey Island is your average point-and-click game: search around, ask some questions, pick up some stuff, ask some more questions and so on and so on, but where Escape from Monkey Island differs is in the execution. With its superb 3-D graphics--the others didn't feature in 3-D--that lusciously depict the Tri-island area, the graphics are the first thing that will catch you eye. Couple this with a witty, clever and at times wonderful script and you've got a game that will have you chuckling out loud as Guybrush spins puns, jokes and insults aplenty.

If you are a fan of the point-and-click genre, or the Monkey Island series for that matter, then this is definitely going to be your cup of tea with intriguing challenges and humour you have come to appreciate from a game like this. If, however, like a lot of people, you are wary of point-and-click games, this is the perfect starting point, with the game slowly easing you into the wonderful world that is Monkey Island. --Stuart Miles

The game opens to find Manny in search of the perfect client, one with the means to place both of them on the fast track out of purgatory and into eternal paradise. Enter Mercedes Colomar, the client who has it all--beauty, brains and enough money to buy them each tickets on the exclusive No. 9 train. Following the film noir formula, Mercedes promptly vanishes, leaving Manny to solve the mystery behind her disappearance and her connection with the Department of Death.

With fantastic graphics--stylishly rendered in the film noir style--and art from the Mayan, Aztec and Mexican traditions, Grim Fandango is imaginative and appealing. The challenging puzzles call for attentive play and for serious exploration of the Land of the Dead--not an unappealing job when surrounded by such beautiful animation. Take the original story line and humorous characters into account too, and you won't want to stop playing.--Brett Atwood

While his lady friends throughout the years may have considered Indiana himself "infernal", the title actually refers to a Babylonian device that has fallen into the wrong hands. In the past, Indy took on monstrous Nazi officers; now he's working with the CIA to capture the machine before it falls into the hands of Soviet agents. This fight takes players through scores of wonderfully rendered scenes, both underground and aboveground.

There are some drawbacks, of course (and we're not talking about its similarity to a certain other tomb-raiding game). The primary fault is that it's single-player only, so don't plan any KGB-versus-Dr Jones death matches. But the famous Indy wit and attitude goes a long way towards making up for that flaw. Also, Infernal Machine is easy to jump into and simple to play--unlike other games that require memorizing key assignments before even beginning.

A much-anticipated title, Infernal Machine--like the globetrotting, dust-covered, nick-of-time treasure hunter himself--delivers the goods. --Hampton Munroe

Maniac Mansion 2: Day of the Tentacle is another hilarious game, pitting three goofball characters against a mad purple tentacle bent on world domination. A time-machine mishap leaves one character in the present, while one is whisked back to the past and the other is sent into the future. All three must work together, solving puzzles that will affect the characters in other time periods and let them progress. You can even access the original version of Maniac Mansion, an entertaining adventure in its own right, by using a computer terminal in this game.--Lincoln Hampton

The action alternates between problem-solving sequences and combat, with side quests thrown in to add some mystery. The storyline is largely faithful to the 1999 movie, taking players from a Trade Federation battleship to beautifully rendered settings, such as the underwater city of Otoh Gunga and the desert world Tattooine, while introducing them to the film's major characters.

Old and new fans of the Star Wars universe will be thrilled to have the chance--as Obi-wan and Qui-Gon--to fight with a light saber, complete with the familiar sound effects. It is often hard to avoid fights--there is little scope for sneaking your way out of trouble. However, the violence committed is often against robots and as a result is fairly bloodless.

The Phantom Menace is easy to learn, despite a clunky keyboard configuration, and enjoyable to play. Advanced gamers may find it too simple for their tastes. For Star Wars devotees and newer players, this game will provide hours of enjoyment. --Alyx Dellamonica Amazon.com

Force Commander differs from traditional RTS games by eliminating resource gathering. Instead, players receive command points for accomplishing mission objectives, controlling key buildings or blowing up enemy units. Command points are used to requisition troops and buildings from an orbiting Star Destroyer.

Star Wars fans will find much to love in the plot. Force Commander begins with your small training platoon being ordered to investigate a certain escape pod that has crashed on Tatooine. Caught up in events that will forever change the galaxy, your career takes you to such far away worlds as Tatooine, Yavin, Hoth, Endor--even Coruscant. With each successful mission comes an increase in rank and larger forces of Storm Troopers, speeder bikes, TIE Fighters and AT-ATs. Being able to take part in the Echo Base assault on Hoth (and other key conflicts from the movies) is a Star Wars fan's dream come true, and we'll be forever grateful to LucasArts for giving us the opportunity to hunt down Ewoks on Endor. --Mike Fehlauer

Your Jedi powers grow as the game progresses, and players are free to commit acts which strengthen their ties to either the Dark or Light side of the Force. Once the commitment to good or evil is made, you lose all your Force powers from the opposing side but gain the ability to add more powerful tricks to your arsenal from the side you chose. All the neat stuff from the movies is there, like the Force pull that lets you disarm enemies, and Vader's sadistic favourite, the Force grip, for choking enemies from a distance. Other powers like Force jump give you greater mobility in the game, and all the Force powers add immensely to Jedi Knight's gameplay.

The included Mysteries of Sith add-on picks up the adventure five years later. This time you get to play as both Kyle Katarn and Mara Jade, the female Jedi from Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire. This time around you must adhere to the Light side of the Force, but that doesn't make gameplay any less interesting. Success in these expansion missions require much more use of your Jedi powers than the original game, and actually having to think our way through problems in a first-person shooter (especially in the last few levels) was a refreshing change.

Graphically, both games hold up well. Resolution can be cranked up to 1600 x 1200 if your video card is up to task. Although the environments you move through lack detail, the design is quite spectacular. Few games offer environments this massive or varied, and the familiar Star Wars architecture lend a great deal of atmosphere to the game.

The movie tie-in also means that Jedi Knight has some of the best sound effects ever. From the hum of a lightsaber to the roar of a passing TIE bomber, everything is authentic and immediately recognisable. If you missed this game the first time around, don't make the same mistake with this bundle. --T Byrl Baker ==

The action takes place nine years after Jedi Knight, Kyle has forsworn his lightsabre and the Force and with his partner Jan Ors now works for the New Republic. You join him as he is sent to investigate remaining Imperial forces (now called the Remnant) on a remote outpost.

From the outset you really know that this is a sequel, if you played Jedi Knight you will nod sagely at the references to its denouement--the valley of the Jedi--in the opening cut sequence of JK2. There is also no training mission, you are thrown straight into stormtrooper-slaying action (you will initially have to manage with a pitifully poor excuse for a weapon the blaster as Kyle has given up carrying a lightsabre.)

But having said that this is classic shooter action, you run around killing things, solving puzzles and gradually unravelling the plot with the single player campaign is split up into eight missions spanning 24 levels on seven worlds including Nar Shaddaa, Yavin and the Cloud City of Bespin.

The thing that makes JK2 different from other shooters is when you get the lightsabre. This aspect of the game is seriously improved from the original, here you can block, smash boxes and even throw your weapon and watch it return to your hand like a Jedi boomerang. The camera automatically changes to a third-person view whenever you activate the lightsabre, which makes it easier to wield. You also get force powers, initially only pull, push, jump and speed, but later missions see you increase this repertoire to Force Lightning, Force Grip and the Jedi Mind Trick.

This isn't an easy game, even without dodging imperial fire there are loads of puzzles to complete and quite often you will spend ages just trying to work out what to do next which will be frustrating. But the lightsabre animations and the atmosphere is fantastic and the music will make you think you are actually in a Star Wars film, you even get a few chance encounters with Mr Skywalker himself.--Seth Joseph

Requiring the original game to play, this time around the action focuses on the battles between the British and the Scandinavians some 1,200 years ago. And this is clearly a period of time the developers have had a lot of fun with. New units include the odd berserker, and on the weapons side, a nice cauldron of boiling oil isn't to be sniffed at. When you enter battle, things are better organised this time, primarily because you can sort your troops before and as hostilities commence. It's a big help; you can specify, for instance, the order in which the reinforcements arrive, while arranging those on the front line to maximum tactical advantage. That's the theory, anyway.

Fundamentally, this game follows the tried and tested route of the expansion pack by pretty much leaving the main game intact. However, if you're after more of the same, then you're in business. That's because Medieval Total War: Viking Invasion presents an engrossing, long-lasting challenge, that genuinely offers excellent value for money. The developers could have got away with something that only added a few hours' worth of gameplay to the original, but instead Viking Invasion offers an awful lot more than that. That said, as with the original, you can aim criticism at the sadly inevitable slowdown when thousands of troops arrive on your screen, although things tick along without a murmur for the majority of the time.

There's little doubt that Medieval Total War is an excellent game, and one of the finest ever seen on the PC. Its expansion pack is superb, marrying a terrific extra challenge with a bit more variety. --Simon Brew