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I still can't quite believe how successful Neighbours has become - particularly as the Beeb originally bought it on the cheap just to fill part of their new "daytime" schedule. I had the dubious pleasure of watching the first-ever episode, in which Des (the bank manager) was about to marry Julie (Jim's daughter), but she discovered his stag-night stripper (Daphne, later killed in a car crash) still in the house on the morning of the wedding!

Of course, that was yonks ago, and hardly any of the original characters are still around. In fact, the turnover rate is so high that only one character from the nine-months-old computer game is still in the series - and that's Bouncer the dog!

You play the part of Scott (Jase!), skateboarding around the streets of Erinsborough in a race against up to four other characters: Charlene (Kylie!) is a go-kart, Henry on his tractor-lawnmower, Matt on a motorbike, and Mike on another skateboard.

Your board can be spun left/right, with fire held down to gain speed. While steering through a series of gates, watch out for hazards ranging from Bouncer and Mrs Mangel to kangaroos and emus! Hitting these results in a time-wasting fail - and a drop in your popularity (shown by the lighting of the "Neighbours" title). This can be restored by collecting litter, but even on the fastest of three levels it shouldn't be a problem. The time spent on your bottom is much more costly. It's irritatingly easy to crash at first, as the push-scroll is only activated when you're more than halfway across the screen, giving you little time to see and avoid hazards.

With practice however, the race action becomes enjoyable, particularly in close battles with your opponents as you carefully avoid collisions with them. At times my skateboarding skills astounded me: zipping around corners, weaving through obstacles, etc. Having broken my ankle on one, I vowed never to ride a skateboard ever again, so Neighbours is a good substitute.

The simple racing action was inadequate at full-price, but makes for a fair budget game. So what if it's got nothing to do with the TV show? Come to think of it, that's a bonus!