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Cor, I remember this one all right, 'coz Gremlin's Ian Richardson came down to Zzap! Towers and gave us all a ride in a real Lotus Esprit Turbo!

The game itself isn't *quite* as thrilling as bombing round Ludlow at 120mph, but it's a good conversion of the original Amiga game with plenty of speed, especially considering the split screen which offers separate 3D views to two players.

And the brilliant two-player mode is where this racer comes into its own. There's nothing quite so satisfying as performing a swift Mansell-style overtaking manoeuvre on your human opponent. On deliberately slowing down so he runs into your rear bumper! This slows him down, as does contact with any of the computer cars.

There are 32 tortuous tracks packed with additional hazards like huge boulders, slippery oil spills and water pools to picnic-hamper your progress - you can't actually smash up your car. The biggest danger is running out of fuel: in longer races you need to stop in the pit lane. Refuelling takes time, so in a close race human drivers often dare each other to leave the pits early - hoping they've got just enough fuel to get round!

It's a lot of fun, and excellently presented too with control options, skill levels and track records. Graphics are excellent with fast 3D and up to six large cars appearing at the same time in each view. There's even a choice of three rockin' tunes or sound FX to accompany the hectic race action.

With compulsive two-player gameplay and top-notch programming, Lotus is well worth blowing a gasket over!