PC: It's tough on war duty

By Peter Eley

Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty

***

Eidos

PC M15+

$79.95

The original Commandos was a minor classic - a good-looking, intriguingly difficult, action/strategy game.

Its follow-up, Beyond the Call of Duty, is labelled as a mission pack but is really a separate game that doesn't require the original to be installed.

While a new 3D graphics engine makes for a better-looking game, it seems to be even harder, and at times a bit sneaky in its solutions, which may frustrate many players.

And there are only eight missions, compared with the original's 16, although the difficulty level may well mean they take the same amount of time to play.

Some of the new features seem a bit odd, too - the box heralds the fact that you can now distract German soldiers "by throwing cigarette boxes." But what if you don't smoke?

The graphics make up for a lot. They're a bit cartoonish, but clear, colourful and fast. And the interface is mouse-driven and reasonably intuitive.

The game runs smoothly on a Pentium 166 with a modest 2Mb video card and like a dream on the recommended Pentium 233.

Commandos are elite soldiers who operate in small groups behind enemy lines.

Beyond the Call of Duty's missions are set deep in German territory during the Second World War - you have to sabotage prototype aircraft, destroy supply trains and generally cause havoc.

It's not a bad game if you can cope with what seems an excessive level of difficulty.

TOCA2 Touring Cars
****

Codemasters

PC G

$99.95

TOCA2 has an impressive pedigree - also in the Codemasters racing stable are Colin McRae Rally and the original TOCA, both excellent games on PC and PlayStation.

It would take a special game to challenge these, and TOCA2 does it with superb graphics and tons of detail from the British Touring Cars Championship.

TOCA2 may well be the best-looking race game yet, but you'll need a powerful system to run it - the minimum processor is a Pentium 200, while a Pentium 2 266 is recommended.

But wait, there's more. You also need a high-end 3D graphics card with a supported chipset on board - they're clearly listed on the box.

TOCA2 is based around the British Touring Cars Championship, and features racing versions of production cars such as the Audi A4, Honda Accord and Ford Mondeo.

The tracks - Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Donington among them - have been authentically modelled and combine with the graphics to give a realistic racing experience.

New from the original TOCA are eight extra tracks, although the alpine climb and downtown USA are a bit gimmicky given the realism of the game.

And there's a also a Support Car Championship where you get to race sports cars such as the Jaguar XJ220 and TVR Speed 12.

* Send your comments e-mail to peter_eley@herald.co.nz

* Games are given a star rating of one to five.