Rough ride
F-1 World Grand Prix II Nintendo 64 £39.99
In this updated version of last year's racing simulation, even Michael Schumacher would most likely skate across a gravel trap and slam into a wall of tyres. But then his car would bounce around a bit, tyres would fly through the air, and he'd be able to get back into the race without having lost too many places.

Realistic? It's a good job the cars are resilient, because in this official F-1 World GP II title they're absurdly twitchy, so it's almost impossible to stay on the track. Some of the hairpins are virtually undriv able, so be glad you can take shortcuts across the grass.

The way ahead becomes somewhat fuzzy with the N64's limited graphics, so there's often no way to see which way the road goes, unless you're following another car.

Still, overtaking is no problem: you can just barge other drivers out of the way. And if you're really anti-social, you can drive the wrong way round the track and stage spectacular head-on crashes.

Yes, you can have fun with this game. But if you want to play it seriously, allow a couple of weeks to learn how to drive and to memorise the 1998 season's 16 F-1 tracks: your friends will be amazed, though they'll probably be amazed you bothered.