Rally Championship, PC CDRom, £34.99
Rally car racing is a peculiar, yet very popular, sport. Since the race is against the clock, it can feel lonely at times roaring out into the country with no other cars visible. Fans of the sport are the ones most likely to appreciate the detail incorporated in Rally Championship. There is an arcade option, but this is really a hardcore simulation. The only driving aid available is automatic gears. There isn't a "no damage" option, so if you park your car in a ditch repeatedly it is likely that the engine will be shot.
Keeping the car functional until you reach a Service Area is the first obstacle to overcome. It will take a lot of time and practice before you can contemplate challenging for honours.
Everything in Rally Championship is authentic. Cars, stages and even weather are extremely realistic. Heavy, lashing rain appears to hit the windscreen horizontally when travelling at speed but reverts to normal when the car comes to a stop.
The recommended specification for this game is probably the highest for any game, probably because of the remarkable graphics. While a Pentium III 500 is recommended, it performed more than adequately on a Pentium II 400. Colin McCrae Rally was until now, the best rally sim around, but this effort makes Rally Championship the stage leader.
[Rec: PIII 500mhz/128MB/Win 9x/3D card]
Soul Calibur, Sega Dreamcast, £44.99
Beat 'em ups were never a personal favourite, but they are one of the most popular game genres. Every good console should have one, and preferably a very good one. In its early days the Sega Megadrive relied heavily on the Mortal Kombat series to appeal to buyers and Soul Calibur could be the one to give the Dreamcast a leg-up.
Soul Calibur's graphics are in a different league to those of any previous "fighting" game. Characters' clothing and hair flow in a realistic fashion; their movement is fluid and smooth, and the backgrounds are almost as impressive.
Aficionados might argue that controlling the characters' movements and special moves is too simplistic. For most people though, this is a beat-'em-up that will be very hard to beat.