CONSOLE YOURSELF

CONSOLE REVIEW

The Lost World

(EA) playstation

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I have to confess I haven't seen the film, but EA's version of events amounts to a fairly enjoyable platformer which lets the player control dinosaurs as well as humans. For the first level you control a rather feeble creature as it struggles to survive attacks by its much harder dino colleagues, with subsequent levels putting the player in the shoes of a hunter, a Raptor, a T-Rex and finally a little girl.

Given the film's special effects, you expect The Lost World to look pretty special and it doesn't disappoint - the animation is incredible and the backgrounds are very convincing. There are only two things which let the game down - it is frustratingly difficult and the gameplay is far too repetitive. The changes of character are refreshing, but it is not until the last level that there is some real variation in the action. Despite this, it's definitely worth a look.

Released: now, pounds 44.99

PC REVIEW

Virus (telstar) cd-rom

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If you've ever dreamed of journeying to the depths of your hard- drive but you can't afford professional help, then Virus could be the solution. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to enter a space craft and wipe out the computer virus which has infected your files. To do this you will need to establish a base and build a variety of vehicles. The clever part, though, is that the game uses the design of the files in your real-life hard-drive as the basis for the 3D environment which you explore.

Unfortunately, the game doesn't live up to the hype. I was disappointed to discover that my harddrive looks like a lot of boring grey corridors with strange, blue neon lights in them and the only difference when played on another PC appeared to be the length of the grey corridors. As far as entertainment goes, Virus doesn't cut the mustard.

Released: now, pounds 39.99

HHHHHexcellent HHHH good HHH average HH poor