PDC World Championship Darts (PC CD)

The game presents the sport of darts in the way you're used to on TV, with dramatic close-ups capturing the excitement of the major competitions. Watch the camera zoom in on the treble twenty when a 180 is in the offing and see how the big moment affects a player's aim.

The first port of call for the beginning is the Quick Game mode. Here a single player, or two players, can set up a match at one of three venues and play using PDC World Championship Darts' innovate control scheme. It's here that you can get to grips with what it takes to become world number one. You'll play the traditional game here, with the winner of each leg being the first to reach zero from 301, 501 or 701 with a double.

Two control methods are offered to players, amateur and professional. In both cases the actual movements required by the player are akin to those used when throwing real darts. To aim, the player places the crosshair over the point he/she hopes to hit on the dart board. Now holding down the left mouse button, the player pulls back the mouse to power up the shot, and then pushes it forward to release the dart towards the board.

In amateur mode the player is guided by an on-screen power meter. Here a marker shows the required power to hit the board where the crosshair is pointing. Too little power and the dart will fall short and land lower on the board, too much power and the dart will hit the board much higher than the aim point. If the mouse movement isn't in a straight line the dart can end up off-target to the left or right. A steady hand is required, just like the real thing.

For budding professionals there's a tougher control often available. Professional mode is just like playing real darts. Once again you'll aim using the crosshair, but there's no power meter to guide you this time. Your skill and judgment are required to decide how far to pull back the dart before releasing it towards the board. Success with this control method requires practice but skilled players will quickly learn to judge how much power to use by watching their character's arm as the throw is made.

Of course darts isn't just about throwing arrows towards the target. Much of the game takes place between the player's ears. This is simulated by the game too, so those big moments, the dramatic finishes and possible 180s mean that it's hard to keep the aiming marker still. Skilled players will learn to judge when to release a dart when the crosshair moves of its own accord.

Mastering these skills, both in amateur and professional mode are the key to success in PDC World Championship Darts' other game modes. Single players can enter tournaments such as the World Championship, World Grand Prix, Desert Classic, UK Open and Holland Open. Success in these tournaments requires beating between five and eight of the world's best players.

For an even greater long term challenge players can enjoy the career mode. Create your own player, choose his entrance music, shirt and control method before embarking on a multi-year career in the world of top-level professional darts. Each season requires you to take part in the available tournaments with the aim being to rise to the very top and become world number one.

Away from the serious world of pro-darts, PDC World Darts Championship offers myriad party games for up to four players. These are designed to be easy to pick up and play and are based on three simpler control methods named A, B and C. In control method A, the crosshair rotates around the board and is stopped with the click of the left mouse button, the cursor then moves from the centre to the outside of the board and back again - a second click of the mouse button throws the dark.

Control method B is similar, but the two motions are firstly horizontal, then vertical following the click of the mouse. Once again the second click throws the dart to the point where the crosshair was stopped. The third control method offers a little more of a challenge.

Control method C has the crosshair moving steadily around the board with constant momentum which the player can influence by moving the mouse. A click of the left mouse button releases the dart.

Party games come in a variety of forms. At the simplest level you can use these three control methods to player regular 301, 501 and 701 to zero games. Pub classics are featured in the game such as Around the Clock, where doubles in order from one to twenty are required to win the match. Other fun darts variations are featured including Cricket - where one team tries to score before the other team tries to bowl them out by repeatedly hitting the bull's-eye and or Killer, where the idea is to take out your opponent. All in all there are 13 party games to be enjoyed in PDC World Darts Championship.