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 games: sequels
Just when you thought the fun had stopped… Although we've already had Halo 2, Half-Life 2 and GTA: San Andreas, the fourth-quarter cascade of sequels and franchise instalments continues apace. Currently gracing my overheating consoles and PC are such titles as Ghost Recon 2, Everquest II, The Getaway: Black Monday (looks great, feels poor) and others. It's all megamixing in my head somewhat, but some strong stuff is shining through.  The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap & Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Chief among the goodies is Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, which, despite the ridiculous assumption that everyone has a 60Hz TV, is fab: exhibiting the same quality as its predecessor, though of course lacking the wow factor that accompanied the 2002 game. The premise is comparable – a desolate planet with an ancient culture, Space Pirate meddling and scanning. Lots of scanning. But it's given a twist by Samus moving through light and dark worlds, something reminiscent of A Link To The Past. Talking of Link, it's this year's Zelda, The Minish Cap, that's warming my GBA. As Echoes was developed by Retro Studios, this is the work of Capcom, but both games capture the Nintendo franchise’s essence of exquisitely convoluted adventure. So, what else? Well, given the current flood of massively multiplayer online role-playing games, it's hard to find the time to get a proper sense of these life-eaters. From my first 15 or so hours in Everquest II, it’s proving that, again, while innovation might be in short supply these days, quality and familiarity can be relied upon. Norrath once more offers the dedicated player plenty of variety. But if EQII doesn’t light your RPG candle, there's also NC Soft's Lineage II...  Everquest II & Ghost Recon 2 Over on Xbox, the franchise world of Tom Clancy continues to swell. That man has done a remarkable job of transforming his name into a brand. Ghost Recon 2 is a handsome game providing squad-based combat in the novel warzone of North Korea. Though it's an experience that requires perhaps a little bit more tactical thought and patience than this particular gamer can muster just now. Jak 3 (poor old Daxter's name gets dropped) and Ratchet & Clank 3 both offer more diverting fun and, er, big pointy ears. R&C3 seems the more accessible of the two, but both are reliably big, solid games built around robust engines, full of double-act gags and OTT weapons. I do find Ratchet's oversized hands strangely disturbing though.  Jak 3 & Prince of Persia: Warrior Within Last Christmas for me was dominated by Ubisoft's Prince Of Persia, a masterpiece of grace and atmosphere. Sadly, I haven't got POP: Warrior Within yet, although encounters with it over the months indicate it offers the same agile adventure and time-twisting storytelling. This despite the fact that the hazy environments have been replaced by more clichéd gloom, something developers seem to think is synonymous with “maturity”. Still, it's the game I'm looking forward to playing this Christmas. If I can work my way through this other pile sufficiently.
Daniel Etherington
All games listed are out now.
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related info
 useful linkswww.everquest2.com zelda: the minish cap site www.blackmonday.co.uk www.ghostrecon.com jak 3 site ratchet and clank 3 site prince of persia site
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see also
 zeldathe wind waker latest gaming columns  half life 2games last week  halo 2games #79  n-gage qdgames #78  gta: san andreasgames #77  fablegames #76
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