SEGA'S new Dreamcast console is making many, many friends in the gaming world.

Around 50 third-party publishers have already signed on the dotted line and have games in development for the super-console.

A large number of them are driving games, with the likes of Sega Rally II and Metropolis leading the way.

Other motoring treats to appear on the console include two formula one games, Buggy Heat, Crazy Taxi and Velocity, developed by Criterion Studios.

Velocity is the console's first foray into the Wipeout mould of racer - hover cars in a futuristic setting.

Meanwhile, Sony's attempt to stop an emulator for the PC has fallen at the first hurdle.

A San Francisco judge blocked Sony's move to restrain Bleem - an emulator which has been downloaded around 1 million times by PC owners keen to sample the delights of the world's most popular console.

And what's more, the emulator can use 3Dfx cards to improve the visuals of original Playstation games.

The software should be on sale in America now - but don't expect Sony to admit defeat just yet.

In a bizarre twist of events which show that Nintendo are as confused as anyone about the company's plans for the future, the Nintendo 64DD Drive looks set to be released imminently in Japan after much umming and aahing from the Big N.

It will be released with Mario Artist Paint Studio, developed by UK coders Software Creations. Ironic then that the N64 add-on is unlikely to see the light of day outside of Japan.

And that means that UK gamers are likely to miss out on the much-vaunted special edition of Shiguyero Miyamoto's Legend of Zelda.

And now for this week's reviews:

Puma Street Soccer by Infrogrames on PlayStation scores 3/10

FOOTBALL, football, football. There's no escaping it on any system these days with the likes of Fifa, ISS Pro and the host of manager sims available. So why exactly does Puma Street Soccer warrant a release?

Well, to be fair, the game does offer a different version of football - teams of four battling it out on enclosed pitches in a host of unlikely settings. But that's where the reasons to buy this game finish.

With Puma, and quite bizarrely Pringles, adverts in plain view throughout the game, one gets the impression that it is more of a money-making scheme than an exercise in top-quality programming.

The game runs at a ridiculous speed and that, combined with the small number of players on pitch, conspire to make tactics obsolete and reduce the gamer to running with the one player and trying to score.

So football fans who enjoy adapting formations and modes of play need not apply here.

The graphics are dodgy to say the least and the sound dire. Not recommended.

Top Gear Rally by Kemco on Game Boy Color scores 9/10

RUMBLING controllers are no longer exclusive to N64 and Playstation owners.

With the release of Top Gear Rally on the Game Boy Color, we have the world's first rumbling console! The game cartridge has a rumble feature so that every time you crash or drive over the edges of the track, the whole machine judders. The rumbling is a very strange sensation but a bonus for the game. It's not often that you find such innovative ideas in a Game Boy Game The idea of the game is simple - pick your car and race around different tracks in a variety of locations.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.