Even the creators of the Blair Witch Project movie have admitted that the movie was essentially nothing more than a group of kids running around a forest getting scared by some shaking trees. Admittedly, it was cleverly filmed so that this seemingly unfrightening concept actually ended up scaring the crap out of a lot of filmgoers. After the phenomenal success of the first movie, work began on the inevitable sequel but less predictably, Gathering of Developers also got hold of the rights to publish three PC games based on the Blair Witch mythology. That's right, games about kids running around a forest, screaming at the sound of rustling vegetation. At least, that's what some gamers pictured when the announcement was first made, but as it happens the Blair Witch games are a lot more entertaining than that, at least if the first title is anything to go by.

First things first, if you hated Nocturne for its camera system and controls there's little here that will change your opinion since Blair Witch uses a slightly modified version of the Nocturne Engine. Developers Terminal Reality have now added a very useful about-face key but otherwise you still view things from fixed camera angles and control the character using the arrow keys and mouse. Having said that, the game is otherwise a surprisingly different beast from Nocturne. The Stranger plays only a small part in the game, acting as standby armed backup for the main character, Elspeth “Doc” Holliday. Blair Witch buffs will recognise the name Rustin Parr as the deranged bloke who lived in the woods and ended up kidnapping and murdering numerous children from Burkittsville in 1941. Of course, this being a horror game you'll quickly discover that there is greater evil at work than a psychotic hermit and it's up to the good Doc to find and deal with these dark forces.