Project Eden (PS2)

Combining first and third-person shooter action with the cerebral story-telling of the likes of Deus Ex, Project Eden is a deep and entertaining sci-fi romp for the PlayStation 2. Set on a future Earth crippled by overcrowding, the mood is dark and seamy. The game is seen through the eyes of a four-person police squad whose aim is to keep everything running smoothly and in an orderly fashion. Happily for us this is far from the case and the plot develops confidently through a serious of twists and turns to reveal a conspiracy which threatens the world (for a change).

The beauty of Project Eden comes from the fact that the team members must be used in conjunction with one another to defeat the challenging in-game puzzles. It's simply not possible to blunder through the game on a Doom-esque rampage, murdering everything in sight. Much more finesse is required to overcome the obstacles in your path and a degree of patience and lateral thinking help immeasurably for some of the tricky situations you'll find yourself dumped in.

If there's one complaint about what is otherwise a great game, it's the control system. Getting to grips with character and camera movement is a tricky business and can be more than a little confusing. Stick with it, however, and what you have is a great action-adventure escapade. --Chris Russell