By Richard Bell

WHEN the first Project Zero was released, it was met with a rather mixed response.

Developed by Tecmo, the team behind such combat classics as Dead Or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, the game opened a new chapter in the survival horror genre.

Playing as a young Japanese girl, you were tasked with shooting ghost after ghost. Surprisingly, however, no guns were involved — here all the shooting was done with a camera!

Noteworthy for its oppressive atmosphere, sparing use of colour and relatively pedestrian pace, you either loved or hated it.

While Crimson Butterfly sticks to this formula, it ramps up the intensity with a whole new story and new characters, improved graphics, refined gameplay, creepier capers and ghastlier ghosts.

Unlike many survival horrors that go mad with gore galore and hideous abominations, Crimson Butterfly only suggests such things, so letting your mind create a gripping psychological terror rarely experienced elsewhere.

Entering the game on the outskirts of an abandoned city deep in the woods, you take the role of Mio, a young girl with a strong sixth sense.

Accompanying you is your twin sister Mayu as you attempt to uncover just what’s going on, stay alive and get the heck out of town.

Gameplay generally runs along the lines of explore, spy a ghost, take a snap of said ghost to deplete its energy and, of course, find keys to open locked doors and solve a few puzzles.

Hunting ghosts is aided by a glowing filament at the corner of the screen that tells you when a spectre is close and whether its intentions are good or evil.

Some attack you, others don’t. Some give you messages, some point you in the right direction.

As the game progresses, additional lenses for the camera are encountered which, when powered-up, give it new abilities. Slow does just that to an apparition’s movement, while Carve takes a power photo that shoves the spirit away to a safer distance.

While the plentiful ghost snapping, roaming about and door-opening routine may not immediately sound the stuff of a great night sat with controller in hand, staring at a screen, it’s the way these elements combine to make the experience more than the sum of its parts.

The engrossing story also makes Crimson Butterfly a winner. Drip-feeding you the tale, the more you play it, the more you want to play it. Sure, there are lots of cut-scenes as the narrative is driven along, but these never bore. Increasing the title’s longevity no end is the novel option of playing from either a first or third-person perspective.

VERDICT: Chilling and thrilling in equal measures, Crimson Butterfly is sure to make your heart flutter.

Four stars

By George Wright

THE latest release teed up to tempt golfers is Outlaw Golf 2. But, while golf is in the title, this is one round that would have the real game’s officials going bananas and heading for a stiff drink at the 19th hole.

In a sport renowned for etiquette and sporting behaviour (apart from a few well-documented Ryder Cup exceptions) this time the rulebook has been ripped up and replaced with a version more akin to the Wacky Races with adult humour.

If you thought Seve Ballesteros and John Daly were mavericks in their day then you ain’t seen nothing yet. Outlaw Golf has 10 way-over-the-top characters ranging from ex-cons, hippies and rappers to thugs and scantily clad babes, all vying to be King or Queen of the course.

Composure is a great asset in golf and the Outlaw team has placed a Composure Response System at the heart of the game’s engine.

When you play badly your composure rating slices out of control. But don’t take a deep breath to regain your cool — the quickest way to recharge your rating bar is to beat the heck out of your caddie or, alternatively, burn up the course in your golf buggy performing stunts and donuts as you go.

Played over eight creatively-designed courses with a difference, the game doesn’t pretend for a minute to be anything like the real thing. Sure, your aim is still to sink that dream putt in as few strokes as possible, but there’s lots of zany fun along the way with multiple modes, mini-games, multi-player action and on-line capabilities creating a Big Bertha-sized slice of golfing goofiness.

However, although it’s easy to pick up and swing, it did head for a bunker or two then eventually find the rough once the novelty wore off.

VERDICT: A decent, cheap game for a laugh, but it failed to make my cut.

Two stars

By Derek Uchman

THE much hyped 3G revolution seems to be getting off to a slow start. Of the long-standing players, Vodaphone was first on the scene, not with a phone, but with a card which plugged into your laptop, and allowed you to access the Net on the move through the 3G network. Speeds way in excess of dial-up were promised.

Now Orange has upped the ante with the Mobile Office Card 3G. They claim to have the edge over Vodaphone with 70% of the population covered, compared to 30% for their rival. Certainly reception is guaranteed in most of Dundee, and we even managed to get reasonable reception in several “dead areas” outwith the city.

However, we were unable to achieve the promised connection speeds of seven times dial-up. On average we got 115.2 Kbps — which is more than twice.

The target market for the card is businesses, and the tariffs (as you’d expect) reflect this. Prices range from £11.75 a month to download 7MB, to £88 for 1000MB.

Not cheap, I think you’ll agree, but the liberating effect it has on your laptop is a joy to behold. Now you will become inseparable from your portable chum, and the two of you will be seen everywhere together. Awww!

Thankfully set-up was a doddle. It only takes minutes to load the software, insert the card, and then register.

Once that’s done, you will be presented with Orange’s dashboard interface, with options to connect to the Net, open email, or start instant messaging.

And don’t forget, as your laptop is using the mobile network, it also has a phone number so you can send and receive text messages.

VERDICT: The Mobile Office Card 3G is undoubtedly the way forward. But, as it’s still very much a work in progress, it should only be bought with caution.

PPP

HOW would fancy turning your laptop into a TV? AverMedia have released the AverTV Cardbus Plus which allows you to tune into TV, FM and Teletext services. Furthermore, it will record shows on to your hard drive for later viewing. It is available now from www.maplin.co.uk, priced RRP £74.99.