DeVuego

Lengthy load times, dated visuals, and obtuse interface and an unnecessarily decentralized recruitment system. 

The combat is, despite flowing well, incredibly and utterly console. 

All highly commendable, but simply lost in the ever undulating rolls of your eyes as familiar pustule-ridden explosive cultists rise from knee-deep blood for what seems like the hundredth time. Which is a huge, huge shame.

A bit more attention to the puzzles, the pace and the script, and this old-school adventure might have been more of a turtle's dream than a turtle's head.

Other improvements could focus on the animation and interface, but apart from that, you have to say that Severance is an amazingly accomplished work of art. But is it a classic? Not quite. OK, the graphics and physics are immaculate, and the fighting is elegant. But ultimately Severance doesn't quite make it to the top of the tree.

Premier Manager Ninety Nine may not suck you in to the same extent as CM3, but it's still an extremely playable game. Loath as we are to recommend bugged software, PM 99 can be a lot of fun in a more casual kind of way.

Basically, this is almost identical to 1080 Snowboarding on the Nintendo 64: you pick a character from the selection of despicable teenage loons on offer, then slide quickly down a slope while balancing on a bit of wood. There are loads of stunts to pull off, some excellent 3D-accelerated visuals, and it even supports force feedback. It may not be quite as polished as the Nintendo game, but if you've got a decent joypad it's about as much fun.

The complexity of these 'line of sight' patterns is much greater in the mission pack than the original, even from the first mission. It may be that Pyro have made the game just too hard to be appreciated by the general gamer, and Beyond the Call of Duty will only be truly enjoyed by Commandos diehards who will put in the time to painstakingly work out their mission plan.

Developed by Spanish outfit Revistronic, Toon Cars eschews all realism in favour of physics and handling that just feel right, while piling on humorous touches, cartoony graphics and all sorts of power-ups. Progress is made through the time-honoured method of unlocking tracks while the races themselves are made unpredictable by track obstacles and the power-ups. You do sometimes spend too much time out of sight of other cars almost as if it were a rally simulation before a rocket hits you from behind and everyone overtakes you right at the end, but split-screen mode is a good laugh. This is as close as we're ever going to get to Mario Kart on the PC.

The graphics never fail to impress, and it is possible to zoom in and out. Being able to rotate the scenery would be nice, as the action is sometimes obscured. Ultimately though, it's an excellent game and more than capable of stealing large chunks of your life. For filling that awkward gap between Jerry Springer and Countdown, there are few better activities, except, of course, those involving a buttered hoover.