Sheep, published by Empire Interactive for PC and PlayStation

PC SPECS: Pentium 200 (AMD 233, Cyrix 300), 32MB RAM, 4MB graphics card, 25MB hard disk space, 8xCD-ROM

Normally, one of the games of the year comes with the flashiest graphics, the most impressive explosions, a dizzying array of weaponry. This one comes with... sheep.

Nuzzling their way up to you, it's your task to steer a hapless flock to the pen at the end of each level. But this requires you navigating them past minefields, shark-infested cornfields and dungeon torture chambers, not the normal kind of task for a shepherd.

Also, unlike most games, this one doesn't boast exceptional artificial intelligence, but rather a high degree of artificial stupidity.

With a variety of breeds of sheep, from the heavy-metal loving Longwools to the stupid Pastorals, this game boasts cute graphics and truly great gameplay.

Certain puzzle games, like Worms or Lemmings, have a life that far outweighs their apparent content. Sheep is one of these, and deserves to gain just as many fans. Truly excellent.

Graphics 4/5

Sound 3/5

Gameplay 5/5

Gamespan 4/5

Overall 5/5

STEPHEN HUNT

Incredible Crisis, published by Namco for PlayStation

What a load of nonsense. Completely different from anything else in this country, this game would have been better left in Japan. The intro sequence was unnecessarily long and misleading - it implied you were about to play a good game. I wasn't.

My bald, block graphics main character first had to undertake office aerobics for a few minutes - unfortunately his head exploded, and I lost interest. Trying again later, he managed to dodge a few block graphics coming his way and then I turned the game off.

There are other tasks to perform, but there is no way of accessing them without completing the strange ones at the beginning. Novel, but terrible, this game makes you wish no-one had bothered to invent the PlayStation.

Graphics 1

Sound 1

Gameplay 1

Gamespan 1

Overall 0

DAN RUTSTEIN

Shenmue, published by Sega for Dreamcast

SHENMUE is a landmark title for the Dreamcast - it's just a shame it's been such a long time coming.

Originally intended to be a launch title for Sega's white box, Shenmue has popped up at just the right time to be the perfect riposte to gleeful PlayStation 2 owners. Put simply, Shenmue is one of the most beautiful, daring, ambitious games titles ever created. It is a role-playing game of visionary dimensions, and yet revolves around the simple premise of a youth searching for the killer of his father. What is so remarkable, apart from the incredibly detailed graphics, is that you are able to interact with pretty much everything you find in the world. Interaction with other characters also gives you the sense that this world is carrying on regardless, and it's up to you to try and keep up. There are a few flaws, chief of which is the slightly awkward controls and, as a result, the clunky movement of the main character. But Shenmue is, without doubt, one of the most remarkable titles ever to be released for this or any other console. PlayStation 2 has a lot to live up to.

Graphics 5/5

Sound 4/5

Gameplay 4/5

Gamespan 5/5

Overall 5/5

STEPHEN HUNT

Crimson Skies, published by Microsoft for PC

SPECS: Pentium 266, 64MB RAM, 675MB hard disk space, 4xCD-ROM, 8MB graphics card

Flight simulators can be very po-faced creations, so thank goodness for Crimson Skies.

Blowing the cobwebs off the genre, Crimson Skies is instead a seat-of-the-pants dogfighting game in which you simply hop into the cockpit, grab a joystick and bring the bad guys down.

Based on the excellent boardgame by FASA, Crimson Skies is set in a fully-developed alternative world during the 1930s and it is all backed up by music from the era, with a story that will bring more laughs than twists and turns. Crimson Skies is one title you should not miss - it's a blast.

Graphics 4/5

Sound 5/5

Gameplay 5/5

Gamespan 4/5

Overall 5/5

STEPHEN HUNT