Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance

Easily the best of the X-Wing series, Alliance proved to be a massive hit among space combat enthusiasts, with its high-speed action and captivating storyline.

Although it starts rather laboriously, things pick up later on in the game. Star Wars fanatics will probably be most excited by the chance to fly the Millennium Falcon, while the rest of us will just buy it because it's a cracker of a space combat sim. If you don't already own it, then you've got no excuse not to buy a copy now.

LucasArts 'can't fail' Star Wars gaming formula looks set to reap dividends for PC gaming freaks everywhere when X-Wing Alliance comes out this Spring. This particular game has two storylines: the primary one focuses on the Rebel Alliance's struggle for survival after bitter defeat by the Galactic Empire in the Battle of I loth; the secondary story -which runs parallel - is a classic Star Wars tale of two rival families caught not only in the middle of the epic military conflict, but battling each other for control of an interstellar trading business. There'll be twice as many craft and objects and the scale of conflict will apparently be doubled. We want it now!