While I've never been a huge console fan, I've been gently easing myself into the scene. I've got a PlayStation 2 and an Xbox and I've been checking out all the titles I can, if only to give them a bash and see how they go. Here is a quick look at a few.

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Grand Theft Auto 3: Vice City
Platform: PlayStation 2
Publisher: Take 2 Interactive
Website: http://www.rockstargames.com/vicecity/

The first Grand Theft Auto game hit the world by storm, racking up huge sales and generally setting a new standard for games. Its open, "sandbox" style of gameplay will no doubt prompt many more clones that we'll see for quite some time to come. If you haven't played the original GTA3, you're living in a cave - go and buy it now.

Vice City takes GTA3's winning formula and applies it in a new environment. It is set in the 80's in a beachside environment, a lot brighter and less bleak than liberty city. At the core, nothing has changed visually - there are a few new effects, but overall it is pretty much the same game. The soundtrack has been beefed up with a huge number of tracks, including some big 80's hits from Michael Jackson, INXS, and many more.

Personally, I found the gameplay to be too much like GTA3 to get really excited about. There are a stack of new features, including motorbikes (which are awesome), new cars, some new things such as the ability to shoot out car tires (which means they're harder to control), plus a stack of new weapons (including a katana and several more melee weapons).

It is definitely a fun game, but if you're looking for something revolutionary like the original GTA3, you might be disappointed. I find a lot of the missions frustrating, compounded by the inability to save anywhere (which some will argue that it adds to the realism/atmosphere, but I find just has me running around more and not playing the game - then of course some people will argue that running around _is_ playing the game. Whatever. ) and the fact that you frequently have to run half-way across the huge city before you can try a mission again.

Overall, if you really dug GTA3 and want more with some great extra bells and whistles, you have to get Vice City. If you never played the original GTA3, you have to get one or the other. Vice City is currently a PS2 exclusive, but a PC version is due next year.

A final note - this is not a game for kids. If you're looking for a Christmas game for anyone under than 15 or 16, forget this one - hell, I know people that are 20 that I wouldn't be comfortable letting play this game.

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Twin Caliber
Platform: PlayStation 2
Publisher: Activision
Website: http://www.twincaliber.net/

Twin Calibre is an interesting game the somewhat unique gameplay in that you play a character in a 3rd person shooter, but all you really control is his arms. Both of them. Each arm can be controlled independently, at the end of which is a weapon of some description.

While this sounds neat, and is obviously one of the main features of the game, I found this very hard to do and often too difficult to bother with - the human eye can only focus on one thing at a time, so I didn't really get into it. Fortunately, the developers catered for lazy people like me and allow you to lock the guns together so they both can be controlled at once.

The basic idea behind Twin Calibre is you're surrounded by zombies and have to fight your way out. It has the feel of a massively over-the-top B-grade horror movie, including really silly voices and script writing.

I played through most of this game in multiplayer mode with my brother; we had little difficulty cruising through the bulk of the game, but once we started to get stuck we had little incentive to keep playing. The gameplay is fairly simple and shallow, although it does offer a few hours of mindless fun. The best feature is some nice slow motion camera work which adds to the atmosphere, although can get annoying if it happens while you're being attacked from all sides.

Fun for a while, but limited lasting appeal.

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GunGrave
Platform: PlayStation 2
Publisher: Activision
Website: http://www.gungrave.com/

GunGrave is an anime title featuring lot of bullets and explosions. You can shoot everything and blow it up. It is a nice and simple action shooter that is a good stress reliever - come back after a hard day at work and blow some stuff up. Only a one player game, but its reasonably nice visuals and action movie-esque gameplay will keep you going.