By George Wright

IN this 21st-century shooter, the aliens have swamped Earth to harvest a powerful substance known as protoculture. It’s now up to the battle-bruised survivors of the first Robotech Expeditions to use their invaluable Invid expertise to save the day.

At the beginning of this latest adventure, you take control of Locke, a member of the Robotech Expeditionary Force, who was captured and held prisoner by the Invid for four years.

He has mysteriously reappeared and the resistance fighters — keen to snap up his skills — quickly issue him with a hi-tech and very handy Cyclone armoured suit.

Not only does the suit protect the freedom fighters, but, at the tap of the triangle button, it transforms into a Cyclone bike which zips you from one area of peril to another in a jiffy.

This also adds another branch to the game, with action switching from on-foot fighting to motorcycle mania. However, one drawback to an otherwise good idea is that the bike handles like a tank and seems to be a magnet for enemy bullets and missiles.

Carrying two weapons at a time, you have one — the Gallant — at all times, although it morphs from a pistol into bigger and better blasters as you dive headlong into danger trying to rid the planet of evil invaders.

Leaving Locke behind, you move on to controlling other resistance fighters as you weave your way through the storyline, blasting and zapping the baddies as you go. There are around a dozen different enemy forms to contend with, but it soon becomes apparent they have one weakness in common — but I won’t give it away.

The controls are fairly straightforward, making good use of one analogue stick for movement and the other to scan your surroundings for the Invid lurking in every nook and cranny. A well-planned targeting system also helps the game flow with ease and battles take place all over the place from the inside of space ships to deserts and war-ravaged city streets.

As well as standard single-player mode, there’s also split-screen two-player action as well as online capabilities for more multi-player fight nights.

VERDICT: A not-too-bad budget shooter.

Three stars.

Supplied by Orange; Price dependent on contract; www.orange.co.uk

By Richard Bell

ORANGE’S exclusive range of SPVs just keeps getting better and better.

When the first SPV launched in October 2002, it distinguished itself by being the world’s first Windows-powered handset. Named after the Sound, Pictures and Video it delivered, the so-called ‘smartphone’ was the result of collaboration between Orange and Microsoft.

A few years on and the leaner, meaner C500 is now staking a claim as the world’s smallest smartphone — and I don’t doubt it. Weighing in at 100 grams and measuring 108 x 46 x 16mm, the handset owes its evolution, in part, to customers who loved the first SPV’s functionality and features, but wanted it all in a smaller package.

The tri-band C500 certainly delivers, with large colour screen, Bluetooth and infra-red connectivity, digital camera, GPRS and WAP Internet browsing, MP3 player (a smart pair of headphones are provided), SMS, MMS, voice memo, email, instant messaging, Java capability, Pocket Outlook, Pocket Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, 64MB internal memory (another 16MB on mini-SD card) and polyphonic ring tones its headlining attributes.

Also, as one of the network’s ‘Signature’ phones, the C500 offers users a uniquely Orange-flavoured range of exclusive applications and services. There’s a new home screen offering instant access to key services such as Internet, email and contacts, Orange Backup, which allows users to store personal and business data on the network and restore those details when required, Packet Video player and Orange Update, which allows users to trial and download new Java applications such as maps, translators and games. Orange Help is also included as an electronic user guide stored directly on the device.

When the C500 is asked to drop the ‘smart’ and function simply as a mere phone, there’s no drop in performance. Accessing a particular contact is unusually rapid thanks to a novel predictive text approach that beats the traditional ‘abc’ multi-click method any day. Call quality is exceptionally clear and signals are tenaciously held onto, even in areas where reception is notoriously poor.

VERDICT: Sophisticated and feature packed, the C500 is a class act.

Five stars

U.S. Robotics; £299.99; www.usr.com

By Derek Uchman

COMPUTER security is increasingly becoming a problem. To keep yourself armed and protected you’ll need anti-virus software, a firewall and something to tackle spyware.

The thing is, though, all these programs use up valuable system resources and will slow down your PC.

The best way to minimise this is to get a hardware firewall, and the USR8200 will provide you with an industrial strength one at a fraction of the cost of comparable bits of kit.

Plugged in as a barrier between your computers and your modem, it will prevent just about any onslaught on your PC, including Denial of Service attacks.

The USR8200 is also a router and will sit comfortably at the heart of any home network (no wireless support, though). It also allows printers and other USB devices to be shared without having the “host” PC switched on, useful if family members have their own PC.

Should you work from home, a Virtual Private Network can be set up allowing PCs at the office to access those at home and visa versa. Most importantly, everything is kept extremely secure.

Set-up is easy, and the manual is clear. However, should you wish to configure some of the settings yourself, you will be presented with quite a tecchie interface. Knowledge of networking is essential here.

Another useful security function is the inclusion of SurfControl — a powerful tool to filter out access to objectional websites. This too can be configured, but after 30 days you will have to pay for a subscription.

VERDICT: A one-stop box-of-tricks designed to securely handle most of your networking needs.

Four stars

MUSIC website Napster is cutting its UK prices by 20%. Subscribers will now be charged 79p for an individual track while albums have dropped to £7.95. The move brings Napster into line with one of its rivals, Apple’s iTunes. It comes as Napster prepares to launch a new service aimed at owners of MP3 portable music players. Napster To Go will charge subscribers more but allow them to burn tracks on to their MP3 at no extra cost. More details soon.

ON-LINE retailer Amazon reckons it knows when Sony’s PSP handheld will be released — March 18. It has started taken pre-orders for the console, and claim that is the day they will despatch them. The cost? £179.99.