Galleon

SCi Games/Xbox (£39.99)

Toby Gard, the man who invented Lara Croft almost a decade ago, has finally produced a successor. Rhama Sabrier, the star of Galleon, is a swashbuckling pirate who, though lacking Lara’s more obvious appeal, has plenty of charm of his own. Galleon’s graphics are fine, but they’re not as smooth as the recent Tomb Raider titles, and they don’t make full use of the Xbox’s capabilities.

Still, the storyline is good, even though it relies on a very conventional damsel-in-distress plot device. The best aspect, however, is the fighting, which is easy to learn and control and varies in style from martial arts to drunken brawling. There is plenty of fun to be had, too, in interacting with the motley crew of characters who appear along the way.