Games: Zoocube <br></br>Prisoner of War <br></br>Slam Tennis <br></br>The Hoobs

Zoocube
GameCube (Acclaim)
£34.99
****
There's nothing as addictive as a good puzzler, and this curious little number for Nintendo is no exception. It has a rather convoluted, eco-friendly concept, but don't let that put you off. The planet's in chaos, a genius has gone mad (don't they all?), and the person left holding the controller is the world's only hope. The crazy genius has locked animals into unnatural shapes. These must be unlocked, Tetris style, with the help of the Zoocube, on to which you gather the various shapes – these will come at the cube from all angles. Rotate the cube so that two similar shapes lock together, and the imprisoned animal will be liberated. It's as easy as that. Until you bear in mind that there are about 40 different animal shapes, that you can juggle your animal lines and that bombs will explode animal shapes out of the way. Things also speed up and, if anything, become a little too complicated. Nevertheless, this is one of the better games I've seen in quite a while.

Prisoner of War
PS2 (Codemasters) £39.99
**
If you like your games to reinforce stereotypes and revel in cliché, you could do no worse than nipping out and picking up this horrid little number. You take the part of Lewis Stone, a US air pilot shot down in the Second World War, who likes to think he's a bit of a loose cannon, and can take anything the Krauts throw at him. Curiously, it plays rather like a cross between Chicken Run and Metal Gear Solid but is half as fun. You're imprisoned in a war camp and the idea is to escape with stealth, rather than bullets. The script is risible, production values are rock bottom and gameplay frustratingly sticky. You'd have more fun, frankly, watching 'Allo 'Allo.

Slam Tennis
PS2 (Infogrames) £29.99
***
Another week, another tennis sim. Gameplayers are being besieged with pixellated Tim Henmans and virtual chalk dust. But let's face it, armchair tennis hasn't really been bettered since Nintendo's Mario Tennis was released for the N64. These "realistic" tennis sims really aren't nearly as much fun. And in a nod to that, this version from Infogrames – which, as ever features "real" players – resorts to novelty knockabouts, such as Rockin' Ring Riot and Bubble Bursting Bonanza, besides its more "serious" knockabouts, which actually are enjoyably tricky. But if you haven't bought a tennis sim by now, then you're probably never going to.

The Hoobs
PlayStation (SCEE)
*
£19.99
In case you're not up on your kids' television characters, be warned, this isn't an adult's game. It isn't even one of those children's games that adults can join in with and be mildly amused. In fact, I'd be surprised if you could even find any kids who would enjoy this for more than a cursory 10 minutes. It is, really, a sort of learning exercise not terribly cunningly disguised as a game, which has then been tied in with Jim Henson's popular television programme in an attempt to lure in the kiddies. The graphics are pitiful, the character manoeuvring is gluey and the gameplay is dull, dull, dull. The tiddleypeeps really do deserve better.