GameBoy Advance; £29.99; Nintendo; www.fireemblem. gameboy.com

By George Wright

TAKE up the role of apprentice tactician and prepare for battle in the latest strategy RPG title to land in game shops.

The GameBoy screen may be mini compared to those connected to PS2s and Xboxes around the country, but it doesn’t hinder this mega tale of a battle-torn land.

As the game begins, you quickly meet Lyn, a nomad girl who enlists your help in her kingdom’s fight against an evil organisation called The Black Fang. Before you know it, the story is spiralling deeper and deeper into a world where strategy is the key to victory.

Meet multiple new friends and recruits as you plunge headfirst into chapter after chapter of fighting wizards and dragons.

As RPGs go, this one’s well up the league table, helped by smooth graphics and gameplay. It’s simple turn-based action, which, after early tutorial-like chapters, is straightforward to pick up and you’re soon deploying forces around the battlefield with tactical aplomb.

As you progress on the battlefronts, building up a force to face the impending danger, it’s vital to have trained well as hits and wounds can prove fatal. In Fire Emblem a kill IS a kill and any unit caught by one blow too many will disappear from the action for good.

Don’t fret too much, though, because, if main players Eliwood, Lyn or Hector get bumped off too quickly, the game automatically reverts to the chapter’s beginning and you can try again.

Choosing weaponry, attack options and when to summon up magical powers is also a cinch thanks to a well thought-out menu interface, and the game flows along nicely via polished links between story and fighting sequences. Good sound effects and catchy tunes tie up the tidy package.

VERDICT: Not bad to play and not bad to look at, but, unfortunately, not too hard to put down.

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ASUS; £2043; www.asus.com.tw

By Derek Uchman

WE at Activate love PCs, and if we had our way it’d be compulsory for everyone to own one.

Trouble is, though, most people don’t have enough room for it, so they end up sticking it in the bedroom or on the diningroom table. Not ideal by any means, but ASUS have a solution — a notebook which does just about everything a high-end PC can. No more untidy livingrooms, just pop it away when you don’t need it.

The W1772N-UP is part of ASUS’s W1000N series, and is encased in an extremely cool brushed alloy cover (although that does make it heavier than many notebooks in its class).

Inside, you’ll find an Intel Pentium M 1.7GHz processor, a whopping 1GB of memory, ATi’s Radeon 9600 graphics chip (just the biz for gaming and DVD watching), an 80GB hard drive and a DVD burner.

What more could you want? Oh, how about a TV tuner card which allows you to watch your favourite shows on the vivid 15.4 inch widescreen.

ASUS have even thrown in a remote control that fits neatly in the PC card slot when not in use. Genius.

As splendid as the screen is, it is a thirsty brute, and uses power very quickly.

In fact, you may be pushed to watch a movie longer than two hours before the battery runs out of juice.

As far as connections and jacks go, the W1772N-UP has a tonne of them, most of which are concealed beneath a flap so it won’t to spoil the sleek looks.

However, Intel’s Centrino chip means you can dispense with some cables, and connect to the Net wirelessly.

The notebook’s underbelly contains the final surprise — a sub-woofer. Yep, that’s right, a thumping bass speaker which adds life to your movies and games.

Of course, it’s not in the same league as a home cinema kit, but it’s nice to see it all the same.

VERDICT: Ditch any preconceptions about notebooks being strictly for the office. The W1772N-UP is a jack-of-all-trades desktop-replacement which will look elegant in any livingroom.

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