Speed Freaks, Sony PlayStation, £34.99
Developed by the Dublin-based company Funcom, Speed Freaks is best described as a wacky racer. Unlike most PlayStation car-racing games, it doesn't require attention to tyre pressures, aerodynamics or gear ratios.
Instead, you will have to choose which character to race as - from Tabatha, who has a low top speed but fast acceleration to Tempest, who can reach very high speeds but takes a long time to attain them. There are six to choose from, as well as hidden characters, and all are rated by weight, top speed, acceleration and their ability to recover from collisions.
Scattered throughout each track are power ups to collect and then inflict on opponents. These can bursting their tyres, leashing homing missiles and release slime on the track, amongst other things. Also dotted around the tracks are speed boost tokens, for extra oomph.
This is hardly the most innovative of games, as it relies heavily on ideas from Nintendo's superb Mario Kart. PlayStation owners who have never played Mario Kart, however, are in for a treat. It is easy to learn but hard to master and with the facility (with the Multi Tap adapter) to play against three others simultaneously it is a game to reach for when other games seem jaded.
WWF Attidute, Sony PlayStation, £39.99
Since the action in wrestling games - unlike in the real thing - is not rehearsed, it makes little sense to say that a game is realistic. This one, from Acclaim, is nonetheless about as "real" as you can get.
A glance through the many options in WWF Attitude indicates that it is nirvana for fans of the "sport", or indeed for anyone who likes beating people up in a virtual world.
There are over 40 WWF wrestlers to choose from, including the Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Undertaker and D-Generation-X. The 20-plus game modes include speciality matches such as lumberjack, survivor series, triple cheat and king of the ring. New match options include first blood, iron man, tornado, last man standing, steel cage and weapons. There is even a pay-per-view mode, and the list of options goes on and on.
The game engine is well up to scratch, and those stuck for a move can press the start button for a list of some to try. Not everyone will like WWF Attitude, but it has to be admired if nothing else for being so mind-numbingly comprehensive. Wrestling enthusiasts will be hard pushed to find better.
Nintendo's successor to the Game Boy, due out next year, will connect to mobile phones, digital cameras and the Internet. The company has set up a joint venture with Konami called Mobile 21 to create new types of game for it. The Game Boy Advance (temporary name) will be released in April 2000 in Japan and at Christmas in Europe. A special digital camera for it will be sold separately and two players with cameras will be able to see each other as they play over the Internet or mobile phone link.
The new Game Boy will have a 32-bit CPU, a reflective TFT colour display measuring 40.8mm x 61.2mm, a resolution of 240 by 160 pixels and support for 65,000 colour display. Battery life is critical to the success of handheld gaming devices (as some manufacturers found out to their cost) and the Game Boy Advance will play for 20 hours on 2 AA alkaline batteries, according to Nintendo. It will also be backward compatible and play games made for the original Game Boy and the Game Boy Colour.