POP LIFE, Publisher: Mindscape, Format: PC, Price: £24.99: FOR every lucky wannabe who makes it into the Pop Idol finals, there are tens of thousands left disappointed.

If you are one of those entrants who failed at the first audition then fear not... the power of the PC makes it possible for your dreams to come true.

Pop Life allows you to take a pop star wannabe through six exciting levels, all the way to the Big Time.

You discover the keys to success by correctly choosing your wardrobe, practising and socialising with all the right people. Get it right and you'll progress from photo shoots to TV appearances and ultimate stardom.

Once the ball is rolling you have to put together a pop show, working on the dance numbers and using hits from established stars such as Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Kym Marsh and Rick Guard.

Whether or not you'll enjoy this game probably depends on your attitude to "reality TV" like Pop Idol.

If you tune in religiously, tap along to the tunes and hang on the judges' every word, then this Sims-meets-Pop Idol title could be top of your PC hit parade.

THE PUNISHER, Publisher: THQ, Format: PS2, Price: £39.99: Family friendly? Punisher is one of those games that fully deserves its 18 certificate.

'THEY killed my wife and family but not me. Now I'm back and it's someone else's turn to die."

So begins The Punisher, the game of the film of the comic book that marks THQ's entry into the world of "adult" interactive entertainment.

Inspired by a 35-year-old novel called War Against the Mafia, The Punisher used to be an ordinary guy called Frank Castle. That was before the mob wiped out his family and turned him into a borderline psycho who dispenses "justice" in a particularly brutal fashion.

Dressed in a leather overcoat and sporting a scary-looking skull on his T-shirt, The Punisher doesn't distinguish between degrees of law-breaking... It doesn't matter if you're a small-time dope dealer or a Mafia kingpin if he catches you, then you can expect to be punished - in the most violent manner possible.

Bad guys have hand grenades shoved in their mouths, their faces pushed into spinning fans, necks broken, their heads smashed to a pulp by windows (and fridge doors) and, yes, some even have their testicles shot off. As if you hadn't guessed, The Punisher is for adults only.

The Punisher started life as an incidental character in Marvel's flagship comic book, The Amazing Spider-man, but his sinister qualities meant he was deemed too much of an anti-hero to be a side-kick for Peter Parker's alter ego. This was at a time when Spiderman was pushing the boundaries of what was permissible in US superhero stories (around the time Harry Osbourne got into drugs and Norman Osbourne, aka The Green Goblin, murdered Spidey's original love Gwen Stacey - storylines that had to be published without approval of the self-appointed Comics Code) but the "take no prisoners" Punisher was a step too far.

After a brief appearance dealing out death to Hammerhead and the Kingpin, Frank Castle disappeared. He returned a decade later in his own "adult themed" comic book series and (rather worryingly) soon gathered a devoted following. The movie starting Dolph Lundgren is best forgotten, though.

Which brings us to 2005 and superhero movies are big box office once more. The Punisher is also back but over here the film has sneaked out into video stores with barely a squeak, which is a shame because the movie stays true to the heart of the character.

Punisher the game is told in flashback through the testimony of Frank Castle who is banged up in Ryker top security prison, New York city.

Along the way Castle gets to mete out bloody revenge to Mafia and Yakuza bosses as well as hundreds of drug dealers, hitmen and enforcers. Once the Punisher begins, this game is non-stop action.

Castle only pauses to interrogate prisoners in particularly brutal fashion. Even willing participants die in spectacular ways (I was quite shocked the first time I got someone to talk by dangling them out of a fourth floor window only for the Punisher to let go and smile as they plunged to their doom!).

The left analog joystick controls movement and the right has control of the camera. This set-up allows for speed reactions - provided you remember which stick controls the viewpoint - otherwise you'll be fiddling around as Castle takes a bucketful of lead in his back.

Pressing the shoulder buttons opens fire with whatever weapon Castle happens to be holding. Pick up two guns and the Punisher can hold one in each mitt for double the fire power.

Bad guys don't just dive for cover, they curse and swear as you kick down doors and walk in all guns blazing.

Special interrogation techniques usually result in a bloody cut scene.

The script is literate and the voice acting suitably monotone. The Punisher's orchestral score lends proceedings a movie-like quality but it's a shame there's no Dolby 5.1 soundtrack to really pump up the realism.

The actual on-screen violence is tastefully done but some of the concepts (drills through heads, etc) left a nasty taste in the mouth of this gamer.

Anyone who played and enjoyed the Grand Theft Auto games, or Max Payne, will breeze through The Punisher without a second thought and probably enjoy every blood-soaked moment. Just keep the box well away from the kids.

Published: 01/04/2005