Murray Walker is a slaphead. Although he does seem to know what he's talking about, his style of commentary translates it in the most bizarre way. And he is also cursed with one of the worst cases of bad timing ever. Take the time when Mansell approached the final lap of a race leading by miles, and Murray chirped that he was bound to win.

Mansell promptly developed engine failure and was forced to retire a mere 500 yards from the finishing line. Bummer. "Oh, I don't believe it! shouted the gobsmacked Murray, having added another clip to the Auntie's Sporting Bloomers collection. The man needs help.

The 'Live Information' element of this new game is provided by Tokyo's equivalents of our beloved baldie, Mulley Walker-San. But the fact that all their waffle is in Japanese means that we don't need to pay it any more attention than usual. Commentary aside, what we have here is the game of the F1 Championship that has aroused the passions of our nation as Damon "I've got Caterpillars for eyebrows" Hill battles it out with Michael "It's really pronounced" Shoemaker for the mantle of World Champion. By the time you read this it will of course long be over, with Shoemaker and Benetton cleaning up.

Like a married couple, their antics and arguments, and the recent tragic deaths and serious crashes, have caused the sport's profile to rise quite dramatically. Never one to pass up some publicity, Sega have snapped up the rights for the use of all F1-related doobries and the result is the game you see before you...

Another attempt at conveying the fast and furious world of Formula 1 Motor Racing.

Take on 23 fellow drivers and speed your way to pole position before the laps are up.

An inset screen in the top right shows a simulated television broadcast of the race. If your car's languishing at the back, you'll see multiple camera angles of the leader's quest for glory. If a major pile up occurs, it will cut quickly to that to bring the viewers up to the minute footage. Other noteworthy incidents liable to attract the attention of the camera include a driver retiring after a spin or a pit stop.

There are six different tracks to race your way around. There of them are actual tracks from the F1 circuit, and the others come in the form of Sega's own distinctive layout.

1. Hockenheim
   This is probably a good course to start off with, as it doesn't have that many sharp turns. There is one linked to a steep rise near the grandstand.
2. Suzuka
   The stakes move up here as this course is much tougher. There are lots of small turns and a couple of particularly nasty ones.
3. Monte Carlo
   This is easily the toughest of the GP circuits, and features lots of tight corners and turns. Not much room for overtaking either, so careful when passing.

1. Novice
   As you may be able to work out, this is the least taxing of these three courses. It only has one real tough turn, which is again around the top.
2. Advanced
   This time it's the novice course with knobs on. A few more twists and a couple of turns make it slightly tougher. Watch out for the turn before the finish.
3. Expert
   Guess what? It's the advanced track with a few knobs on! This time there are a significant amount of changes to the layout, enabling a much trickier track. Too many turns to name, just lots of them.

After the small disappointment of Hang On, I think that this is a slightly better game all round. The graphics are the one aspect that probably isn't on par with Hang On, as they tend to be a little jerky and rough in places, but I found this a bit more exciting to play as a whole.

The feeling of picking up speed is excellent when you are going through tunnels and bridges, but get in an open space and suddenly the effect is lost. The tracks are of a good variety, and difficulty is also well balanced. There are also a good range of cars to choose from and the inclusion of real Formula 1 teams is a good addition for the officianadoes.

However, the commentary is annoying and there should really be a two-player mode. Not too bad though - real racing freaks should especially enjoy this.

Scooby Doo trees. That's the problem with this game. Do you remember how in the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon the backgrounds to chase sequences were punctuated with the same ten trees zooming past over and over again?

Well, in F1 Live Information (daft title!) we become familiar with the same 'blocks' of trees, albeit in varying colours, over and over again. Things don't get much better in Monte Carlo, where the city's rich architectre is reduced to bland and flat-looking Lego structures, all of which start to look very samey.

Looks aside, this plays very well, with a realistic car action and tight, responsive controls. The inset television screen is very impressive and the commentary might even add something if it's translated for these shores. But if how your racing games look is as important to you as how they play (and they are, after all, partly simulations) then this might disappoint.

Graphics 80%
P. Superb intro, and good detail on the cars.
N. Terrible clipping and jerkiness in some places.

Animation 78%
N. Nobody moves in the pit lane. They look like cardboard cut-outs.

Music 84%
P. Enjoyable tunes, but no ground-breaking stuff.

Effects 88%
P. Realistic engine noises and revs.
N. Shut that bloody commentator up!

Playability 84%
P. The car handles well, meaning you don't get frustrated whilst playing. Manual and Automatic gears are always good variations.

Lastability 81%
P. The chance to beat Schumacher is always worth coming back for.
N. There aren't many courses to beat him on.

Overall 84%
Good fun to play, but some rough graphic areas mar the overall effect.