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They love cars, do Gremlin. Lotus Turbo Esprit, Toyota Celica, Nigel Mansell this Christmas... it seems that one in every two releases from the Sheffield gang is a drivie. Supercars is a bit different to the rest, though. For a start, the screen doesn't show the view through your windscreen. Supercars is an overhead-viewed race with tiny cars pelting round a twisty turny track. You're controlling one of these cars. The computer is controlling the other three. They twist and turn all over the place (in a twisty turny manner).

There are nine different tracks, a sales office (for better, less battered cars) and a garage (for increased speed, steering improvements, and, er, weapons). It's hard to describe exactly why the gameplay is so horribly addictive; you'll just have to take our word for it that it is.

Oh OK, here's three reasons: The cars handle brilliantly, with just the right amount of slippage. The tracks look fairly similar, but each requires different tactics if you're to win through. The difficulty level is pitched just right - if you do well on a course, the computer ups the difficulty for the next one you try!

Basically, Supercars is an updated version of the old Atari classic Supersprint (from the Jupiteraisic period of history). But whilst some 'updated' games are just half-arsed rip-offs (of a few Codemasters games we won't mention), Supercars is a brilliant and inspired re-working of the theme. And Supersprint was a more gnarlsomely addictive game than most to begin with.

If you don't own a copy of Supercars you are either very poor or very stupid [And in either case Adam knows the feeling - Ed]. Make amends now. Repent. Throw away your favourite Dizzy game to make room in your tape box for this.

Original release: February 1991
Original publisher: Gremlin
Original score: 87% (AA66)

A classic game style that's just as gripping and addictive now as it was in the days of Supersprint.