Iron-Storm

A hot contender for the throne occupied by Quake 2, Daikatamfs extended development period is ample proof of Ion Storm's commitment to making the best first-person shooter around. Beautiful game environments, multiple characters who work together against the common foe (ie roaming hordes of evil monsties), cool weapons and the expertise of John Romero (one of the men behind Doom and Quake) all suggest that Daikatana will be a force to contend with at the end of '98.

The game features four different time zones, each with their own weapons, characters and graphics. We anticipate a game that combines the hectic action of Quake 2, the inventive level design of Jedi Knight and the pure fun of Duke Nukem 3D. PC Zone readers will of course he the first to see the results of Ion Storms efforts when we run our exclusive review in December.

If the realities of 20th-century history aren't sickening enough for you, you're going to love this new game from the folks at French outfit 4X Studio, as it's set in an imaginary 1963 where the First World War never ended.

Joining the increasingly swollen ranks of similarly pitched titles, it's a first-person shooter hoping to blend good fun times with the gritty realities of guts-out, mustard-gas-in-the-face warfare. The plot puts you as part of a rebel group out to overthrow the evil capitalist consortium who are perpetuating the war for their own filthy profit-mongering ends, and your mission, obviously, is to kill the depraved fat cats and restore peace to the world.

Given the alternate history setting, authentic elements from World War I such as trenches, zeppelins and bi-planes will co-exist with more modern gadgetry such as laser mines and sub-machine guns, as well as stuff that's just plain made up, like the grenade dogs that hop into enemy tanks and blow everyone to bits.

We had a brief play of the game at ECTS, and were pleasantly surprised by the updated Phoenix 3D engine powering the lot. The excellent real-time lighting and textures were both competitive with the big-name engines, and the sniper-fuelled atmosphere had an uncommon intensity and conviction. The only problem for the game, and admittedly it's not a small one, will be competing with the likes of Medal Of Honor.