If the cost of a winter holiday to the slopes of Europe or America is a little out of reach, or you simply prefer to stay in the comfort (and warmth) of your own home, then read on.

Ski and boarding enthusiasts can experience the thrills and spills of the slopes just by picking up a games console and opting for one of the many games now on the market.

The two winter sports games put through their paces by Chipchat this week are:

Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarders

For PS2o

Having thoroughly enjoyed playing SSX Tricky I was a little sceptical about the potential of this PS2 release, but once I hit the virtual slopes any such doubts rapidly melted away.

The game's creators are Activision, who also produce the phenomenally successful Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, and fans of these should love this one.

As you would expect there are a host of characters, venues, tricks and stunts to master, as well as challenges to overcome in order to earn points and unlock new boards.

The graphics are excellent, supported by a cool soundtrack featuring Alien Ant Farm and Papa Roach. The game's look and style is less zany than SSX Tricky but just as entertaining, especially if you take on your mates in the brilliant two-player modes.

Definitely worth a look if extreme sports are your thing dude !

f=helveticaRatings: Graphics 5/5, Sound 5/5, Gameplay 4/5, Gamespan 4/5, Overall 4/5. Dave Hopwoodo

Snowcross by Wanadoo

On PCo

The game is about a snowmobile sport called snowcross. It is very similar to motocross and, like motocross's supercross, there is an indoor arena version.

On most of the circuits the only real way to win the race is to know all the shortcuts and to stay on the sled.

I liked being able to upgrade the snowmobiles but I was disappointed that there was no option to set up the sleds.

The trick function is very good; you can pull some spectacular stunts off jumps but the actual riding lacks the skill of some of the more established simulations such as Colin McRae's Rally or even Motocross Madness.

This feels more like an arcade racer than a racing simulation.

To progress through the game, unlocking more tracks, new sleds and sled upgrades you need to win each race, for which you earn points which are then added up to give you a season total. You need to win the season to progress to the next stage.

The creators certainly produced a great number of different circuits and there is also a wide range of sleds with different characteristics, so there is likely to be one or more to suit your riding style.

The one let down was the speed at which the competitors catch up, even if you are going at the speed of light, they will turn up next to you.

f=helveticaRatings: Graphics 4/5, Sound 3/5, Gameplay 3/5, Gamespan 3/5, Overall 3/5. Edward Oldaker