Yes, HOMM III was good, as was Total Annihilation. Both showed off the ''lay of the land.''

Uplink, by Introversion Software (http://www.introversion.co.uk/), had an interesting start. It''s a game where you hack a virtual ''internet,'' and get paid for it. It''s kinda hard to explain the intro, so go watch it.

Uplink is a really good example of linking the user interface into the story. Another situation would be, for example, if the player was ''remote controlling'' a robot. I mean, c''mon, a marine in the heat of battle doesn''t see a little meter saying ''100%'' in the corner of his eye. But if the existence of the UI can be explained, it really helps to make the game immersive. In essence, you turn the UI - something which naturally hinders the realism of the situation - into part of the illusion. It''s hard to do well, but if you can do it, it''s great.

Superpig
- saving pigs from untimely fates
- sleeps in a ham-mock at www.thebinaryrefinery.cjb.net