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Car racing games are among the best established computer programs. Atari produced Night Driver for the arcades many years ago, since then there has been a steady flow of car-based games in the arcades, the most spectacular being Pole Position. Following the general trend of arcade games being adapted to home computer use, Amsoft have produced 3D Grand Prix.

All the features which made Pole Position a hit are present in 3D Grand Prix, plus a few more. As with the real Formula 1 championship you have to race around tracks dotted throughout the world. There are eight circuits in all. You start at Zanduoot and then progress through Silverstone, Anderstorp, Jarama, Roeur, Brands Hatch, Kyahami and finally Mosport after which you revisit Zanduoot. All without going through Duty Free.

The program comes with a loose paper insert which shows all the circuits in enough detail for you to work out what to expect at the next bend. It is a shame that the start line is not included and the addition of the names of the bends would have helped add colour.

The scenery scrolls past, showing a castle, bridges and adding a touch of realism. Unfortunately, the scenery is limited so you can't tell where you are on the track by just looking at your surroundings.

As you get to know the tracks, the game gets easier to play. To progress from one track to another you need to finish in the first three at the end of a three lap race. If the authors had been sticklers for detail and gone for a full 65 lap, race 3D Grand Prix would have become tedious in the extreme.

Circuits are not graded in levels of difficulty, in the early stages of development, Silverstone was going to be the first track and it is still the easiest. It was, however, decided that Zandouoort had much prettier weaving bends and so would make the game more addictive. The game gets progressively harder as you progress because the rival cars get faster and faster. All the cars are colour coded for speed, red, that's you, being the fastest.

Technically, 3D Grand Prix is a clever game. A lot of work is being done by the computer while you are playing. Having two rival cars and a double bend ahead of you displaying all this besides keeping the relative movements of the cars updated is no easy task. Amsoft have gone one better and added front wheels that move and rear view mirrors. The mirrors are very useful, they allow you to see when to overtake another car, instead of just being parallel, and they show you from which side the rival is going to try and overtake.

There are few sights as satisfying as watching the car in the mirror getting smaller. After the lights go red you have five seconds before they turn green and you have to accelerate hard to stay in pole position.

As with a real racing car you have to use the rev counter to maximise acceleration and minimise wear on the engine. If you overdo the revs, a thermometer indicates the danger until the engine seizes. This is only temporary, you can restart once the car cools, with a big enough lead or close to the end of a race you can risk running the engine a bit hot. For the rest of the time it is easier to leave the car in fourth and slow right down for corners - the engine won't stall. If you drive too fast you risk a skid. An approaching skid is signalled by ear-piercing tyre squeal. It is possible to avoid the skid by changing down, to the detriment of the engine temperature.

A much more effective way of slowing down is to drive over the grass. All the cars drive around the circuit following the best possible line, this entails taking the corners in an out-in-out fashion. Opposing cars pay no heed to your road position, they will carve you up and even run into you in an attempt to take the corner perfectly.

3D Grand Prix is one of the new Amsoft Gold titles and so costs £1 more but the tape qualifies for a better box than the standard Amsoft products. Amsoft did have a reputation for producing very ordinary software at high prices, more games like this will provide them with the ammunition to rebuff the critics, This game is deservedly destined for the number 1 slot in the Gallup chart.