Previous Next

It looks like toyland when you first see the boat (jet or not?) ready at the start, but in this "Pole Position for boats", you're racing against time.

I found it incredibly difficult to manoeuvre my craft for some time, but when finally mastered the technique I still wasn't very good at it!

After each lap you complete, there's a little sailors' ditty and you're off on the next lap. Motor chugging away, this time you're faced with more hazards, and they keep breeding with each lap of the river.

Marker flags, coiled serpents, ducks, rocks, sail boats and even alligators attempt to make your passage that much more difficult.

The land you pass also gains buildings, cattle grazing, trees and mountains which all further the distraction.

Bumping into the land (well, actually you seem to go through it) slows you down considerably. The ultimate disgrace occurs if you run out of time on the course. The stop watch gives a tinkle and that's the end of that game.

I felt I had to have just one more go, just to finish yet another lap, so I guess it was addictive.

Toy town graphics, high score table and the rest - definitely a good one for the family on wet Sunday afternoons.

After staring at the staggeringly amazing graphics for a few minutes, I regained my senses and started to play this game. Unfortunately, on playability, this game falls down very, very badly. The concept of the game boils down to simply steering your boat repeatedly around the same circuit with an increasing number of obstacles. This is a shame.

I've always had a fantasy about speedboats. I can just imagine myself sitting in one, skimming at high speed across some Caribbean water, looking like something out of a James Bond movie.

Fortunately, there is an alternative: Jet Boat for the Beeb has all the excitement of a high speed river race against the clock with great graphics as well.

If you don't want a fast, smooth-scrolling, addictive, exciting and genuinely enjoyable game then I advise you to leave this game well alone. If you do, then I advise you to get it at your first opportunity.

This took so long to load, I was seriously thinking that it would be a mega-game. One to remember and tell my friends about. As it is, it's only ok. The controls were a little confusing to start off with but I soon sorted them out (really I got stuck on a bank until my time limit ran out).

One useful feature was the boat's ability to cross land, go through churches and cemeteries, in fact cross anything in its path! James Bond never did this. My main gripe though is that you only get one river to terrorise. Surely, for the amount of time it takes to load, they could have added something.