Constructors: Street Wars

Although the original Constructor scored extremely highly across the board when it was released towards the end of last year, it wasn't exactly what you'd call a bestseller. Like so many games released around Christmas, it struggled to compete with the over-hyped likes of Tomb Raider II, Carmageddon and Jedi Knight for shelf space and just got lost among oversized silicon bosoms, mutilated pedestrians and lightsabers in shop windows. Undeterred, and encouraged by the feedback they received, developers System 3 set about finding a new publisher and started work on a sequel that would, hopefully, put them on the map. Unlike most developers, however, who are usually more than content to rehash the original and embellish it with some new levels and the odd graphical tweak, System 3 have pretty much reinvented the concept behind Constructor. Whereas the first game focused on building and acquiring property by various means fair or foul, the sequel focuses very much on the rogue activity that proved to elevate the original game above the likes of SimCity in the fun stakes.

No longer a property developer, you are a mob boss who is responsible for expanding and defending your family's turf. Starting with just a single building, you must take control of the city and then move on to the next, building your own empire of crime. According to the developers, apart from constructing buildings for your people to live and work in, there's plenty of scope for strategy through tackling rival gangs, taking over their buildings and business interests, as well as the more run-of-the-mill mob activities, such as robbery, bribery and extortion.

A new band of'undesirables' - specialists in various rogue activities, such as ghosts, safe-crackers, hookers and 'nutters', each with their own special animations - should ensure that in terms of visuals and gameplay, Street Wars is as endearing as the original Constructor. Additionally, a new, optimised game engine capable of hi-res, 16-bit graphics, a simplified mouse-driven interface and improved AI should make for a more rewarding and enjoyable gaming experience. And that's what sequels should be all about, isn't it?