F1-2002. Publisher: Electronic Arts. Format: PS2 and PC CD-ROM:

INCREDIBLE as it may seem to football fans, there are some other sports still being played out on the world stage at the moment.

Although Formula One is reckoned to be the second most watched sport worldwide after soccer, the series has taken something of a battering this season. Millions of viewers are growing sick of tuning in once a fortnight to watch some bloke called Schumacher (be it Michael or his brother Ralph) drive around for two hours before finishing first. Ferrari team politics haven't helped matters, either.

At least F1 2002 lets you redress the balance in the comfort of your own living room.

As befits a title from the publishing colossus that is Electronic Arts, this is bang up to date with all the new teams and latest driver line-ups.

What's more, all the cars are meticulously modelled on the real thing.

A typical example: EA didn't just record one F1 engine for this game. Sound engineers visited every team and took noise samples from each car. So the Ferrari V10 sounds radically different to, say, the Honda that powers the BAR or Jordan cars.

What this means is that the real petrol head can usually tell which car is behind them just by listening carefully to the sound coming from the TV speakers. Impressive? You bet. And that's only the beginning.

This game is totally configurable. You can jump straight into a race with a top team; switch on driving aids like traction control automatic braking for corners and no skids then race for first place.

Alternatively, take your time. Opt for a full race weekend simulation that takes you from first practice right the way through to the race day itself. If you switch on fuel and tyre options you have to drive with one eye on economy just like the real thing. Press too hard from the start and your tyres will lose grip, costing precious time as your car's front end starts to plough straight on in corners (the dreaded under steer effect) and increasing the chances of a skid.

Interactive pit stops are nothing new in games of this type but here they are almost a sub-game in itself. In order to achieve the perfect stop you have to get everything right from braking to 50mph in the pit lane to hitting your marker for a tyre change and accelerating away.

An interactive pit stop is theoretically faster than a computer controlled one but it takes time and skill to achieve what you want. All too often you make a mistake and that can mean the difference between a hatful of points or nothing.

New for this year are EA Sports cards - a points credit system awarded for good performance that unlocks new features. It's an interesting idea but sits uneasily with a game that also allows you to delve into the vagaries of brake bias, bump stop suspension settings and rudimentary aerodynamic theory.

The graphics are excellent with the PC title just edging the contest provided you have a sufficiently hefty PC to do the software justice. Otherwise the PS2 variant is a more than acceptable substitute.

By dint of its up-to-the-minute stats this game makes all other Formula One titles obsolete. But, with Geoff Crammond's seminal Grand Prix game making its way to the consoles soon, F1 2002's competition is certainly hotting up.

INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR SOCCER 2. Publisher: Konami. Platform: PS2. Price: £34.99

International Superstar Soccer used to be the game every PlayStation owner wanted to buy but couldn't.

The peculiarities of licensing meant that ISS on the PlayStation was completely different to the game with the same name on the Nintendo 64. By general consensus, ISS on the N64 was far more enjoyable, fluent and challenging.

The Nintendo machine may be history but Konami continues the tradition of having two teams working on very different football games, albeit now both on the PS2 platform.

PlayStation ISS has grown up to become Pro Evolution Soccer, a tremendously popular and accurate recreation of the game that currently has millions of people glued to their TV sets at strange hours of the morning.

ISS on the N64 has undergone a more subtle change. Polished up with all new player names, it now goes by the slightly misleading name of International Superstar Soccer 2. I say misleading because, counting the N64 game and its sequels, there have been at least four earlier iterations of this title.

For those who haven't had the pleasure of trying any of them ISS2 differs from Pro Evolution by dint of a faster pace and all-action game play. It's more of a arcade title than a strategists' dream.

Don't be fooled into thinking ISS2 is some kind of "dumbed down" variant of its award-winning brother. It isn't. You only have to play a finely balanced match and watch how the game reacts to your strategies to see some pretty cunning AI (artificial intelligence) at work.

The strategies may not be as deep, but ISS still rewards the player who is prepared to study an opponent and experiment with different formations.

It also pays to keep a close eye on other player statistics too, like motivation and stamina. Running your tired team into the ground is a sure way to concede a goal in later matches.

When it arrived five years ago, the Nintendo ISS was stunning in its visuals and silky player movement.

Times have moved on since then and so has ISS. This new game has beautifully detailed players, a wider repertoire of moves and no hint of jerkiness or slowdown. It looks and plays terrific.

With more than 50 international teams to choose, five different modes of play (including a World Cup in all but name and a full league system) and real player names this is the perfect companion piece to Konami's other football title. Heck, even the commentary has been improved, even if it isn't quite up to the standard set by EA's FIFA series.

Any self respecting football fan needs a copy of ISS 2 in their collection for those moments when all that's needed is a rollicking good game.

Published: 14/06/2002