Off to a roaring start at number ten is Microsoft's recently released Xbox-exclusive Project Gotham Racing 2.

How does taking the wheel of an exclusive high-performance exotic like the new Enzo Ferrari, a Porsche GT2 or a BMW Z4 (or maybe a Mini Cooper S), then racing through one of ten authentically modeled famous cities like Barcelona or Moscow sound? How about doing it against other players from around the world on Xbox Live? This is what Project Gotham Racing 2 promises - and delivers.

Bottom line: "An absolutely stonking game and the best racer on the Xbox to date. If you have any remote interest in cars then this game is for you. Buy it now!"

Bottom line: There will be thousands of new PlayStation 2 owners in New Zealand come December 25th, and this pack should be sitting next to those consoles under the tree. (Keep an eye out for the Xbox pack due out in New Zealand on January 9th.)

Bottom line: An amazing cinematic foray into the action packed world of Max Payne, which picks up in every way from where the original left off. Highly recommended.

Bottom line: A must-have companion on the bus, train or wherever, the All Blacks GBA SP is the perfect gift for the gamer who loves his rugby.

Inside "The Beast", along with the Xbox console and controller, you'll find two full games -- Midtown Madness 3 and Brute Force -- plus a DVD remote control. Treat yourself!

This Xbox blockbuster hits the PC just in time for Xmas - and it's even better than the original!

Knights of the Old Republic is set in the Golden Age of the Republic -- over 4,000 years before the first Star Wars film, when both Jedi and Sith number in the thousands. With the Galaxy reeling from a recent conflict with the Dark Lords, the ongoing battle between the Jedi and the Sith rages on.

Your actions determine the outcome of this colossal galactic war, and your destiny as a Jedi.

Bottom line: A must-have title for any PC gamer, not just RPG nuts. Knights of the Old Republic features a huge and involving storyline, excellent graphics and sound, a superb battle system and the choice to take the path of the dark side!

No less than fourteen years ago, the original Prince of Persia helped create a new genre in video games. Sliding comfortably into the top four on our list, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time marks the return of that cult classic.

One of the great games of its time, the 1989 original (included as a bonus with Sands of Time) featured the first fully-animated character in a classic medieval tale worthy of its own book. Now, after a 2D sequel and a forgettable attempt to bring the series to 3D on Dreamcast and PC, creator and one-time bedroom coder Jordan Mechner has taken the game back to its roots.

Within the war torn land of ancient Persia, a young Prince discovers a magic dagger. Drawn to its dark powers, he is led to unleash a deadly evil upon the reaches of his father's vast kingdom. Aided by the wiles of a seductive princess and the absolute powers of the Sands of Time, the Prince stages a harrowing quest to reclaim the Palace's cursed chambers, and restore peace to the very fabric of Time itself. He must tread these dangers carefully, however. Because in this world, there is only one rule: master the Sands, or be buried.

Bottom line: Sands of Time is like the sublime Ico, but in another setting. That alone makes it a must buy for action/adventure game fans, and overall Sands of Time maintains the quality its own name deserves. Highly recommended.

It's not even out yet, but from the time we have spent with Cricket 2004, we can assure you this: if you like cricket or you just like sports games, you're going to love this game.

Blinding fast deliveries, huge sixes and dynamic catches... this is cricket in its purest form. Cricket 2004 has unmatched player control and feel and an authentic TV-style presentation. The game is packed full of new features, including full licenses from the ACB, ECB, NZ Cricket and the South African Cricket team, a total of 75 accurately modeled stadia with various pitch types and conditions plus detailed real-time weather effects and night modes for day/night matches.

Bottom line: HB Studios has worked hard to deliver a top-notch Cricket title, and by all accounts they have succeeded. You can't go wrong if you like cricket, and you won't get much better two-player action this Xmas.

Tidily scoring second on our shopping list is, of course, Stacey Jones Rugby League! Developed locally for an Australian publisher, the team at Sidhe Interactive in Wellington have done a fantastic job with limited resources -- we can hardly believe how good this game has turned out.

All the excitement and passion of rugby league comes to life as you take control of your favourite team and lead them to victory. There are 35 teams available in Stacey Jones, with official licenses that include the National Rugby League (NRL), NRL Telstra Premiership, State Of Origin, City vs Country, the Australian Kangaroos and the New Zealand Kiwis. The game also features 25 realistic stadia, play by play commentary by Channel 9's Andrew Voss and accurate player abilities and skills modeled on official NRL statistics.

Bottom line: Excellent graphics, sound effects, gameplay, commentary -- even a create-a-player mode! Multiplayer is where Stacey Jones really shines, and many hours are going to be spent over the holidays smashing the crap out of your mates (in the game, that is).

It's finally here -- sort of. While Xbox Live is not set to officially launch in New Zealand until March 2004, Microsoft last week began shipping a limited edition "New Zealand Only Starter Kit" which enables Xbox owners to start getting online now.

Xbox Live is an online gaming service that lets you play Live-enabled Xbox games against other players from around the world -- from the comfort of your living room. If you have an Xbox and a broadband Internet connection (Jetstream Starter 128k will do), then with the Xbox Live Starter Kit you'll have all you need to start fragging your friends and enemies online.

The Xbox Live Starter Kit is a little expensive thanks to the inclusion of two full version games; if you don't have these games, it's great value. If you have them already, it's not so good. The two games are excellent choices: Project Gotham Racing 2 and Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, making for something of a showcase of the Xbox Live service. If you do already have these games, you might want to look at just buying a game like Rainbow Six 3 which includes an Xbox Live trial and headset to get you online.

With the kit you get an Xbox Live Trial Subscription which is good until October 2004, after which a monthly fee will apply. Also in the kit is an Xbox Live headset -- a pair of headphones with a microphone, which you'll need to make use of the integrated voice communication in Xbox Live -- and your Xbox Live connection disc (which includes playable demos of Mech Assault and Moto GP).

Bottom line: This is the evolution of gaming right here. If you have an Xbox and a good enough Internet connection, you have no excuse not to get stuck into Xbox Live. If you don't have an Xbox, here's another reason to take another look at that alien green machine. (Xbox owners: make sure you check out our new Xbox Geek community site, too!)

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BEST KNOWN TO GAMERS as New Zealand's Nintendo agent, super distributor Monaco Corporation has been busy acquiring several new publishing brands, and in addition to Nintendo, are now responsible for THQ, Acclaim and Ubisoft games. Tripping over Xbox packaging and PlayStation 2 demo pods, we went in to chat with Ben Ward of Monaco's gaming division. GIA: Mr. Ward, firstly please tell us a bit about yourself and your time at Monaco Corporation.

BW: My job title is Group Manager - Gaming. I've spent four years at Monaco; I was originally a marketing assistant for Casio. I've been working in the gaming division since the GameCube's launch. Monaco has had the Nintendo agency for seven years now, starting with the original Game Boy. We actually used to assemble Atari consoles and games at one time, and our in-house service team still works on things like SNES machines for consumers. The market has changed immensely in those seven years. With the distribution of THQ, Acclaim and Ubisoft, we saw what their distributors were doing and thought we could do a better job. We took on Acclaim last December for all platforms. That was a hard time of year to start due to seasonal demand. Then we took on THQ in March, and Ubisoft knocked on our door about two weeks ago! With Ubisoft, it's nice walking into a situation where they have three big titles ready for release as well as such a strong back catalogue.

Web link: Nintendo New Zealand

GIA: Are there opportunities to bundle software now that you have multiple publishers and hardware together? BW: Absolutely. Although each brand is run as a separate business unit, my job covers bundling between them. We also have leverage to make efficiency gains with PR and buying advertising space now that we represent four gaming brands. Distribution is a hard game. We have a hell of a lot of capital, and we can look at returns a year away, not just immediately. However, we have to make money at the end of it, whereas the companies that have local offices can run at a loss because the Japanese head office is bringing in enough to more than cover that. Having said that, we know Sony and Microsoft have been making a loss even at home while Nintendo was the only company making money. GIA: It was over a year ago that you dropped the price of the GameCube below the international price to where it is now, and you also lost money offering a free Wavebird at the same time. Are you planning to drop the price to match the new international price? BW: In October last year Nintendo had stocks of GameCubes that needed moving, but they wouldn't drop the price. We decided to drop the price, and I know we pissed off Nintendo Australia and it cost us a fortune, but we had to stop losing money with units sitting still. I remember giving the green light at the time. It was the last day of October, and I was freaking out about the money we would lose. We're still losing money at that price so we won't drop the price again until Nintendo Australia does. GIA: What's happening with the GameCube broadband adaptor? BW: Again, we have to wait for Nintendo Australia to provide us with stocks before we can distribute them. Getting stock of some products has been difficult in the past. However, that has changed. GIA: What are your strongest franchises? BW: Pokemon is strongest by far. Zelda and Mario are naturally huge, too. Zelda is an immense franchise to us. It's amazingly strong. Mario Kart has done exceptionally well, along with Pokemon. Also on Game Boy, Sword of Mana is proving huge, too. WWF Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain has destroyed the market over here. It's gone amazingly. That was another one we took a gamble on and we were new to wrestling franchises, but it has been unbelievable. Prince of Persia is exclusive to PS2, and we have big projections for that game. It was rated best game at E3 this year. XIII is publishing on all formats, and Rainbow Six 3 is being released both with and without a headset. Finding Nemo is still selling very well right now, and that's another big one for us. Next year we'll be doing Final Fantasy on GameCube, and Pokemon Colliseum - both around the first quarter. In the second quarter THQ will have Full Spectrum Warrior exclusively on Xbox. That's made by the US Army, and it's looking fantastic. On PC we'll have Stalker in the third quarter. It's made by two Ukrainians who did a 30 square kilometre map around Chernobyl. They went in with suits to map out the area and gather information on the environment! THQ is also very strong on their movie franchises, and there's a new Disney Pixar movie called the Incredibles which will have a game based around it. This will be bigger than Finding Nemo. Ubisoft has Far Cry on PC in the first quarter as well as the new Splinter Cell game. They also have the Matrix Online; they're going to set up an online Matrix you can log into with Jetstream and play. You can choose sides, and be who you really are. If you want to learn to fly helicopters you can do that. The possibilities are endless; I think it's a total mind job, that one. Acclaim will have their World Championship Rugby game out in the first half next year, and there are lots of others but I can't confirm them right now. END