1999 sees Sony back on the grid once more, but after last year's dismal effort, do they even have what it takes to qualify, let alone win the race?
Catherine Channon

Johnny Herbert's recent racing success, and the debut of the all-new Malaysian Circuit to Grand Prix, has meant F1 has been even more unavoidable than usual. Even when the season finishes, a trio of forthcoming F1 games means this on-screen bombardment is likely to continue.

Having once been considered the leader of the pack, Sony are eager to recreate the past (that's way, way back in the past) success of Psygnosis. But with three of the industry's biggest publishers all after your cash this Christmas, the competition is warming up quicker than a sets of slicks on an F-40. So what of their offering? With a track record as disappointing as that of the Arrows team, they've certainly had a lot of re-tuning to do.

At first glance it looks as though last year's criticisms may not have fallen on deaf ears, and graphically, the pop-up of F1 '98 has been drastically reduced via alterations to the game engine. But while both the cars and circuits look smooth, the aesthetic changes come at a price - one that you'll notice as soon as you hit (or rather, miss completely) the first corner. In many places it's almost impossible to foresee the corners approaching, making your only hope of winning the race to repeat your qualifying laps over and over again until you know every bend backwards.