The Codemasters are pinning a fair amount of faith on this game, trumpeting it as their first two-disk game with quotes on the box describing it as "without doubt, Codemasters' best game yet". The plot, however, is far from inspirational, and the inlay is pathetic, furnishing the player with next to no information at all.

Doesn't sound too good then, does it? So I'm pleased to report that Miami Chase is actually a bone fide, grade A, first-class corket of a game. The tone is set with a very lengthy and impressive intro sequence, and the game itself (while undeniably simple to the point of being laughable) is one of the most stylishly put-together I've seen in quite some time. The whole of the gameplay consists of driving around some city streets (viewed from overhead) and taking out the bad guys by shooting and ramming them off the road, but the graphics are so elegant and the scrolling so smooth that it's a joy to play, and a wonderfully single-minded experience.

It's a gorgeously simple game, with aesthetics that any full-price software house would be proud of, and gameplay that any arcade junkie will love. The one doubt is over lastability, with only five levels, buy hey, what do you want for eight quid - blood?!

A mad fun classic, which succeeds because of simplicity and sheer professionalism. It would be criminal to miss it. (So don't!)