Prepare to work and reap the rewards
Ferrari F355 Sega Dreamcast £39.99 AM2/Acclaim *****
And there I was thinking that videogames were meant to be fun. Sure, some PC games necessitate hours of manual revision, but console titles, and especially those on the Dreamcast, usually let you dive straight in without even a cursory glance at the instructions.

But Ferrari F355 is different: very, very different. Putting it simply, this is one of the most prohibitively tough driving simulators ever. It may be an accurate arcade version (with one, rather than three, screens) but there is no immediate gratification here.

Instead, you must practise until you can visualise the track in your sleep.

Normally untouched, the training mode is crucial for your success. A line is drawn for you to attempt to follow and you can (and should) take computer assistance with your braking and traction.

If console racing fans are dismayed at actually having to use brakes, they will be mortified by the standard of the computer opposition.

Unlike the moving scenery of other games, these drivers will block and cut you up, making tactics even more important.

Thankfully the rewards for all this perseverance soon become apparent.

There may be only one car to drive, but the satisfaction of finishing, let alone winning, a race makes up for any lack of variety.

The six main tracks are all realistically depicted and the game itself looks stunning.

Likewise, the cars themselves are accurately modelled - even though they remain the same when damaged.

Of course, the Ferrari name still exerts a pull over most car enthusiasts and there is little doubt that F355 will appeal to them, and anyone else who is willing to put in the necessary hours of practice.

However, if this all sounds like too much hard work, then it probably is. (GH)

Thrills get left behind in stylish race
Metropolis Street Racer
Sega Dreamcast £39.99 Bizarre Creations/ Sega ***
How about this - a driving game where sheer speed isn't paramount? I know, it sounds like a beat-'em-up where you have to throw little squares of bubblewrap at your opponent instead of kicking his head in, but hear me out.

Here's the deal: in order to progress through MSR, you have to accumulate "kudos" points by winning races stylishly: burning rubber or pumping the handbrake. Drive really fast but boring laps and you are going nowhere.

Penalty points are deducted, however, if you hit the side of the road or another car. The latter rule is diabolical: you lose kudos when the enemy cars ram into you from behind, and they are happy to do this at every opportunity.

At first, the game looks beautiful. You get to race around several carefully digitised square miles of "real" central London, San Francisco and Tokyo. The neon lights of Piccadilly Circus or the pink gravel of Horse Guards' Parade flash past with ultrasmooth rapidity and zero pop-ups. It is exhilarating. Some day, you think, all games will be made this way.

And then a bit later, you think some day, but not right now. Because the first time you are asked to race against other cars, rather than in a solo time trial, the graphics engine gets out its pipe and slippers and starts to peruse the gardening pages of the Daily Telegraph.

More than one other car on screen and the frame-rate wheezes and chugs. Oh dear.

Given that MSR has finally arrived a year late, hotly anticipated by game-starved Dreamcast owners, this is just an insult. And the overall game structure is flawed too. It doesn't offer the instant, designer arcade thrills of, say, Ridge Racer V on the PlayStation2, yet the pointless punishing of minor collisions prevents it from being a really nail-biting hardcore revver like Gran Turismo. MSR does boast a fine two-player mode and it's very pretty, but really - kudos schmudos. (SP)

Make the wrong choice and it's all over
President for the Day
PC CD-Rom £11.75 Damaris ***
Tired of playing against miniature demons or zombies? Try being president for a day, where the bad guys are gun-toting war lords, power-crazed neighbouring countries and the IMF. But cruelly, you are the worst guy of all. In two hours, I managed to start a coup, get shot at my desk, and cripple the economy. Hospitals and schools closed, the people rebelled and no government would lend us anything.

All going well so far?

President for the Day is aimed at sixth formers and first-year university students, but could be played at home.

It is produced by Damaris Publishing, which specialises in late-teen books and websites, in its first link-up with the development agency Tearfund.

The game's notion is simple: you are president of an emerging African nation for one day and the choices you make affect your country.

Advisers put their point of view and an increasingly irate chief of staff fills you in on the status quo. This you can follow with high-quality news footage on your screen.

So, when the coup begins, you can see the men with rocket launchers coming and also watch your people die.

The use of news footage is strong and the problems cause you to think. Click this button and oops, everyone's starving. Make that choice and oh sorry, we've been invaded by our next-door neighbour. Opt to do nothing, and you've got a revolt on your hands. Buy arms to fight back and here comes the IMF.

Floods, droughts, famines, corruption - this game's got the lot and it makes its point.

But it doesn't have strong graphics. Improving a rather static backdrop would have increased my sense of doom as the warlords approached.

Apple Mac owners will have to borrow a friend's PC to play as no Mac version is planned.

Schools can get a licence for 10 CDs for a knock-down rate of £11.75. (HS)