Top five games of the year: Consoles

Reviewed by JON MINIFIE

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)

(EA Games)

Rather than squeeze another game out of a 20-year-old trilogy, BioWare Corp set the clock back 4000 years (before Vader and Co) to a more civilised age where the Sith and Jedi numbered in their thousands. In this epic RPG, players assume the role of a reckless young Jedi, roaming from planet to planet with a posse of bounty hunters, demented droids, even your own Wookie.

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SSX 3 (PS2/Xbox/Cube)

(EA Big)

With its giant mountain and extended cast of characters, EA Big went even bigger for this sequel, which held off Top Spin Tennis, Pro Evolution Soccer 3 and Rugby 2004 as top sports title of the year.

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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PS2)

(UbiSoft)

This reworking of Jordan Mechner's 1989 classic is flat-out brilliant. Like a Middle Eastern ninja, the prince uses more than 750 animations, giving him a range of movement that makes Lara Croft look awkward.

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Brute Force (Xbox)

(Microsoft)

Midway through the year Microsoft came up trumps with this addictive and challenging mission-based shooter. Thanks to intuitive, Halo-like control Brute Force is the best team-based third-person shooter on any console.

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Legends of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube)

(Nintendo)

Exuding originality and charm, Nintendo's cel-shaded masterpiece was the best action-platformer of the year, despite stern competition from recent releases Jak 2: Renegade, Voodoo Vince and Ratchet & Clank 2.


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