Buggy

After you slip Buggy into your Playstation and watch a fast-edit intro movie, you will find yourself in the buggy selection room. Each buggy has different values for speed, acceleration, grip and weight, which really does have a bearing on the gameplay: choose a speedy, lightweight car and you may be airborne; whereas a slower and heavier buggy may trundle like a tractor, but at least will keep 4 wheels on the ground. Once you have chosen your car you will then proceed to the game's novel levels. Here, you drive your buggy around a maze-like structure of hubs, each of which contains a few courses. Finish first in each of these courses and other hub areas will open up, revealing new tracks and buggies. A little gimmicky perhaps, but it does increase the feeling of reward you feel when you open up a new area of the maze.

Controlling a vehicle such as this is fun in itself, but when you race one around the tracks contained in Buggy, it becomes FUN (in big bright shiny neon-lit letters). Each of the courses is varied and challenging, with features such as forks in the road and huge ramps, and made up of more bumps than a camel with measles. This last fact alone sees for some fun and original gameplay, with your buggy bouncing and boinging around the place like a spacehopper on a trampoline (especially the lighter cars). In fact, this can sometimes be a little confusing as often this results in your car going belly-up. Although it rights itself quick enough, it doesn't always end up facing the right direction, which can see you merrily speeding off against the flow of the race.

The courses are all suitably varied and interesting, each with its own unique features and landmarks. A particular favourite of mine was the mountain-top temple level, complete with chiming temple bells, ornate pagodas and huge big snowballs rolling down the hill towards you. The 3D engine is also impressive, but the graphical complexity can be confusing, given the colourful and uneven surroundings (as in more driving the wrong way.)

However, once you've raced a few times around a track and know its foibles, the gameplay shines through, revealing a quality - if disposable - racing game. Not one you'll go back to again and again perhaps, but despite its flaws, Buggy does provide some undeniably fun moments of adrenaline rush for speed junkies. Probably best for racing fans who don't care about realism too much.