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Being a great racing and racing games fan, I came upon this game with some trepidation. I have just played Revs from Acornsoft at some great length.

I had also just come back from my first set of lessons at Brands Hatch racing the real thing - Formula Ford 1600 single seater racing cars (in the pouring rain!). All that was going to throw a different light on any racing game I played after that, especially any that call themselves 'simulations' like Revs.

Chicane also has the Brands Hatch circuit in it as well as being based on the Formula Ford 2000, which is a similar car to what I drove 'for real', so I looked forward to the review very much.

The game Chicane will have difficulty in not being compared to Acornsoft Revs, the two being released within a couple of months of each other. The Kempston game differs by attempting less simulation with an increased quality of gameplay.

In Chicane you have a choice of six international circuits including Brands, Silverstone, Donnington, and others. Each of the circuits has a qualifying time associated with it. You then get a qualifying lap on the circuit of your choice in Pole Position style - complete with the 'prepare to qualify' message.

After a successful lap you go into the starting grid in whatever position you managed to get. Again there are strains of Pole Position as the starting lights beep away in front of you.

When you are actually racing, the action is very realistic indeed. The car has all the instruments that an FF2000 has with the main one being the revs counter. There is also a gear indicator. On either side of the turning steering wheel there are the wing mirrors. These give a very clear picture of what is happening behind you. Revs only shows blurred shapes, but in 'real life' the picture in the mirrors is quite clear as is in the Kempston game. In fact, with Chicane I found myself using the mirrors, whilst in Revs I never do as they are almost useless.

The other cars that you are racing are very well detailed and you can really jockey for position between the opposition. My one complaint about the game is that the corners (at least on the Brands Hatch option) seem to be not as sharp, and the cornering of the car not as good, but this doesn't affect the playability of what is one of the best racing games that I have seen. Full marks to Kempston.