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I've always thought of myself as a bit of a James Caan Rollerball freak. I mean, I've got the looks, I've got the body and I've certainly got the ability. The problem is... I don't have have a supercharged motorbike with spikey wheels!

International Speedway has changed all that. Now I'm there with the boys, revving up my engine and generally creating trouble on the race track. The basic idea behind International Speedway is to get to the top of your local, national and continental speedway championships, beating all before you. It's actually very easy to progress to the top of the local and national tables, international is something else though.

This is of course the theory. Unfortunately singularly uninspiring graphics and sound and repetitive gameplay means that you'll hardly want to progress to later levels. It's not that the game is too easy or too hard (there are three difficulty levels), but all the circuits are basically the same. The only things which actually change are the colour of the track, the position of your rider and the standard of the opposition.

Control involves leaning left or right and making forward progress using normal throttle or a once off booster. This booster is useful for quick starts, or if you reckon you're a bit of a skill rider, for boosting past the opposition coming out of the first corner.

International Speedway is enjoyable enough for the first hour or so and it actually gets quite competitive after a while, but unless you're a speedway freak you'll tire very quickly of it. Well, to be honest, even if you are one it won't last very long.

Label: Codemasters Memory: 48K/128K Price: £3.99 Tape Reviewer: Big Al Dykes

International Speedway is an entertaining, but throw-away title with relatively poor graphics and sound and little in the way lastability. It is quite playable though which counts for something, but unless you really want a motorbike sim I would advise against this game.