(EA, PC/Playstation/Saturn/N64, £30-£60)

In an even more shocking than usual display of corporate cynicism - US software behemoth EA usually make their money from yearly, and frequently pretty minor, retreads of their blockbuster series of officially-licenced sports games - this year footy lovers are being asked to fork out for two versions of FIFA International Soccer. This one takes you through the recently-completed qualifying stages, then leaves your frustrated virtual squad hanging till June, when you'll have to cough for another new version to compete in the actual finals. All of which would be unconscionable if the game was as blindingly terrible as the last couple of incarnations (FIFA 97 and the obscenely dire FIFA 64, for which someone better be first up against the stadium wall when the revolution comes), but the (first) 98 version is little short of a revelation. Drowning in a tidal wave of criticism, and in danger of seeing their cash cow (various FIFAs have been the all-important Christmas No. 1 for four of the last five years) swept away in a deluge of bad press and disgruntled customers, EA have taken desperate measures with the franchise, the least-expected of which was to make it a damn fine game.

From the moment a pumped-up, Nuremburg-rallied Song 2 from Blur hotwires the intro sequence, it's obvious that the stops have been pulled out this time, and while a horrendously confused spaghetti mess of menu and option screens makes getting to an actual kick-off a Krypton Factor experience (and momentarily sparks the fear that everything's gone arse-shaped again) the first few seconds of the first match deliver you into the safe, calming hands of Motty, Des Lynamy and (er) Andy Gray, and you just know everything's going to be alright. The play is smooth and fluid, with intuitive control (in contrast to previous versions, where you had to wait for every animation sequence to finish before you could do anything, causing a second-long delay between pressing the button and actually kicking the ball), and the graphics are pristine and pin-sharp (although lacking the detail of the Playstation's ISS Pro). Even the commentary, courtesy of said Holy Trinity, is less repetitive and idiotic than usual. Finally shouldering the weight of its own name, FIFA 98 steamrollers almost all of the competition out of sight and barring the N64's inestimably fantastic International Superstar Soccer 64, it's currently the finest footy game money can buy. Twice.

MISCHIEF MAKERS

(Nintendo, N64, £50)

Despite the twee name - embarrassingly muddy-funstered from the much zippier Japanese original ("Go! Go! Troublemakers"), this is another hyperwired festival of weirdout sugar-rush anarchy from developers Treasure, still the best-kept secret in the games business despite a run of completely fantastic games dating back to Gunstar Heroes on the Mega Drive. Basically a platform shoot-'em-up in the same way that The Usual Suspects is basically a heist movie, Mischief Makers is such a riot of invention and genius that, frankly, it's got no chance whatsoever of being a big hit. Prove us wrong.

QUAKE 2

(Activision, PC, £40)

Blah blah blah bigger graphics blah blah blah fantastic lighting effects blah blah blah even scarier monsters blah blah blah multi-player deathmatch game blah blah blah. There's no escaping the fact that by any lights, Quake 2 is a very well put-together game. On the other hand, it's also a game we've seen approximately three million times in the last year, and there's nothing new in this one. With the arrival of Goldeneye, the goalposts have been well and truly moved in this particular genre, and Quake 2 is a shot yards wide of them. Same old.

UPRISING

(Ubi Soft, PC, £40)

The latest stab at bringing a flicker of originality to the glut of Command And Conquer clones besieging PC owners sees the player - previously given a God-like overview of proceedings from on high - thrown into the middle of the action, with a first-person perspective on all the blood and guts and direct control over some of the monstrous hardware under their command. Otherwise it's pretty much business as usual, but accessible controls and balanced design make this a lot more fun for the casual mercenary, while still engrossing for more hard-bitten generals.

DEAD OR ALIVE

(Sega, Saturn, £40)

1997 was a pretty quiet year for beat-'em-ups, but a whole truckload are waiting in the wings for '98, and first out of the traps is the Saturn version of Tecmo's arcade hit. Little separates it from all the identical-looking 3D beat'em-ups that have preceded it (on the beleaguered Sega machine in particular), but Dead Or Alive's does have one unique selling point in the shape of the deeply disturbing "breast inertia" menu option that causes the fronts of the female characters to flob up and down like two balloons full of half-set jelly. Oh dear.

SAN FRANCISCO RUSH

(GT Interactive, N64, £50)