It starts fast, speeds up, and just about never slackens the pace. Building on the outstanding Call of Duty, Activision's United Offensive expansion pack brings 13 fresh missions, three new multiplayer modes on 11 original maps, and a decent mix of new weapons, vehicles and troop types.

Several attempts have been made to capture the scale and atmosphere of Tolkien's epic on PC, but few have come close. In The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth, EA Games has combined relatively straightforward RTS gameplay with an outstanding look, impressive atmospherics and a remarkably accessible interface.

Need for Speed Underground reinvigorated the franchise a year or so ago by adding some challenging and slightly antisocial elements to an inherently solid and well presented concept.

The original Myst was an enormously popular hit for all ages (no pun intended!), and a regular succession of sequels has continued to tap into a solid fan base.

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was a huge hit a few years ago, boasting a D-Day landing most of us will never forget. Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault takes the war to the Japanese; across Pearl Harbour, Guadalcanal and the Makin and Tarawa Atolls.

TimeGate Studios' original Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns caused a bit of a stir back in 2001 by defying a few of the realtime strategy genre's long established conventions.

The original Steel Panthers was a hit in the mid-nineties, and many players will remember wiling away the night hours at what was (for the time) an outstanding mix of realistic gameplay, terrific graphics and a first-rate interface.

It works for the various TV versions, so Ubisoft has clearly decided not to mess with a proven formula when it comes to the CSI computer games. CSI: Miami sticks so close to the moderately successful CSI: Dark Motives that you can't see the gap, but fans will still be pleased enough with the result.

EA has dominated the soccer-sim market for some time and FIFA Soccer 2005 looks set to maintain that proud tradition.

Colin McRae Rally 2005 looked pretty solid in preview, and the final release has certainly lived up to expectations.

Chess games are always a bit tricky to review. Surely not too much can have changed since the last release? Still, like many sports titles, developers are always looking for added extras to tempt us to put aside a perfectly good version and splash out on an upgrade.

The RollerCoaster Tycoon series has proven remarkably popular over the years, despite average graphics and a slightly clunky interface. RCT2 disappointed many fans, but the loyal Tycoon community continued to share new scenarios and rides while waiting for the Holy Grail to turn up.

After a brief foray into 3D with Uru: Ages beyond Myst, UbiSoft has returned to the core gameplay that made the Myst franchise so popular over time. Myst IV: Revelations is a stunningly artistic title that builds on the evolving story, answers a few nagging questions (while raising a few more!), and presents the most impressive puzzles and challenges yet seen in the series.

Although its billing as a 'next generation' city-building game might be a little over the top, Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile is a well designed and pleasantly addictive title that comes with a nice sense of history.