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Exciting, violent, road-racing action

Racing games are all the rage this month, and there's plenty of fast furious action in this one. It doesn't feature two-player racing, but you may find yourself with up to six cars on screen at once.

The setting is the Nascar circuits of America, and you have to take on 18 other cars, including Richard Petty's (a famous Nascar driver). However before you can race against the best, you've got to qualify. This is done around a tri-oval circuit or a random circuit. Both of these have only left-hand turns with the former having three and the latter a random number each race.

Qualifying is fairly easy as long as you keep at maximum speed and don't bump into the other cars on the track. At this stage they're easy to avoid, but they won't be so charitable in the race proper.



Your qualifying time determines your position on the grid, and it's best to be in the top four, or you'll have a lot of catching up to do. The start usually causes large jams as the leaders jockey for position, and you have to be extra careful not to get sandwiched and crash. This isn't the only way to meet your doom, though.

You have tyre wear and fuel levels which if allowed to get to zero will cause you to crash. Tyres are worn down when your car rubs against the curb, while heavy contact in front or behind from another car will also result in disaster. You may also get some random engine trouble, but this will only slow you down. All these factors can be repaired in the pits.

To help you avoid the other drivers, you have two handy techniques. The first is slip-streaming (driving close behind a car), which won't speed you up but will conserve fuel so that you can avoid doing too many pit stops. Secondly, you can use turbo boost which allows you to travel at 294 mph instead of the usual 250 mph, and its great for overtaking manoeuvres. However, it eats up the fuel and should only be used for short periods on straights.



The other cars have distinct personalities and there are five general types. Three individuals are your main competitors and drive distinctive numbered cars, which are most easily out driven on the bends. The others fall into two classes: the bumpers and the demons. The bumpers are slow and easy to avoid, while the demons are really nasty and baulk you.

The engine noises aren't that good, but the tyre screech round corners is nice. The graphics are disappointing, with a flickery track and although the cars look great, their movement is jerky. The perspective does allow you to see a corner before you are into it, and this helps you prepare.

Each race is over thirty laps, and you have continuous updates on your position in the race, who is in front of you, your last lap time, and your points score.

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Pit stops

If a crash occurs on the track, a yellow flag goes out and at the end of the lap you get a free chance for a pit stop and restart on the grid.

You can replace your tyres and fuel and also check out your engine -- all this is done more or less automatically by three mechanics in your pit. Your car looks extremely beaten up with several bits of the bodywork having had major panel work and resprays.

You can call into a pit at any time by stopping in the pit lane, but it's best to do it under the yellow flag when you won't lose any time.


PRESENTATION
61% Good instructions, high score table.

ORIGINALITY
32% Road-racing game with a few new touches.

GRAPHICS
44% Fast-moving, but flawed by juddering.

HOOKABILITY
71% Immediate excitement with stacks of action.

SOUND
53% Screeching car noises. Nothing spectacular. Poor title screen music.

LASTABILITY
69% Tough challenge to finish a race, let alone win.

VALUE FOR MONEY
69% An enjoyable, exciting game. Bound to suffer by being released at the same time as Pitstop II.