First-hand impressions of the official launch titles

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. have announced a dozen spectacular games that should rock the videogame industry like never before. First of all, the vital third-party developers Square, Namco, Konami and Capcom will each have at least one major launch title come March. Second, Sony's own endeavours into adventure and RPGs, not to mention the third iteration of Gran Turismo on PlayStation2, look nothing less than ravishing.

Tekken Tag Tournament (Fighting, Namco)
That's right ladies and gents, Namco are bringing their latest tag-team Tekken fighter to the next-generation PlayStation. Now for a bit of realism, this game looks better than the Dreamcast's extraordinary Soul Calibur and Namco haven't even finished developing it yet. The fighters all look amazing, cleanly crafted, smooth surfaced and fast as lightning (not a lick of slowdown anywhere to be seen). If you've played the arcade version then you won't be too surprised to hear this, considering TTT was developed on a System 12 board, which doesn't have a 10th of the power of PlayStation2.

Gran Turismo 2000 (Racing, Sony)
What we saw apparently shows only half of what Gran Turismo 2000 is capable of looking and playing like. Graphically, every curve cast a fantastic glint of light off it, every corner gleamed and reflected and every car looked as enticing as a brand new Dodge Viper. In short, GT2000 is drop dead gorgeous. The game handled with incredible sensitivity, even though it was only playable with digital controls. The cars don't look like they'll be able to flip, or at least not on the track we tried, which had four cars on screen at once. The realism of the speed and cornering and the sim-style handling make GT2000, just like its predecessor, a game of skill and practice.

Continued...


Courtesy of IGN.com