For those with a Braveheart

***

PC

Red Lemon

$99.95 (MA 15+)

Review: Peter Eley

As anyone who's seen the film Braveheart will know, 13th-century Scotland was a complicated place, with dozens of treacherous clans fighting each other as well as the English.

And the game is just as complex, a hugely ambitious undertaking which requires the patience of Robert the Bruce to master.

The aim is to lead one of 16 clans, guide your people to prosperity, win over William Wallace (Mel Gibson in the movie) - and then take your claymores to Edward Longshanks and his Sassenach swine.

Braveheart is essentially a very good game. The problem is there's just too much of it.

We have a real-time strategy game, a turn-based strategy game, an action adventure game and lots of really useful information all wrapped up into one.

It takes a lot of getting around and that will be much too much for most players.

But there are lots of good things. If you're into power, the micro-management aspect of Braveheart will keep you happy for centuries. And the war stuff is good - large, detailed characters swing claymores and shoot longbows in scenes reminiscent of Myth.

Unlike Myth, though, it is hard to control troop formations, and battles tend to end up out of control with numbers, rather than tactics, the deciding factor.

The graphics are excellent overall, with maps of Scotland and England accurately rendered from satellite data. The sound's good, too, supplemented with dialogue from the original film.

And there's a wealth of well-illustrated data on the history of the period, including details of the clans.

Did you know the Scott clan was "clever and scholastic, but seriously deficient in battle" or that the Camerons were "warlike with vicious and dangerous warriors"?

Obviously, choosing a peaceful clan means diplomacy, rather than out-and-out aggression, will be your route to glory.

The game can be played in software mode with a Pentium 233, or in hardware mode with a Pentium 200, using an Open GL or Glide compatible 3D card.