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Out Run, perhaps the ultimate coin-op driving game for speed, spills and thrills. It's a winner, the thoroughbred of the arcades.

There's little doubt in most people's minds that the US Gold conversion will hit the number one spot. But at the time of writing that's still in the future.

But one thing is for certain. If you are expecting the conversion to be as good as the arcade marvel you'll be in for a disappointment. What you get is really an approximation.

Despite the claim that Out Run has taken "nine months for numerous programmers to develop the graphic design and gameplay", there is the impression that the Commodore 64 version has been rushed.

The game is a race against time, to complete the selected course and reach any of the five goal lines to become a winner. Out Run puts you in the seat of a Ferrari Testarossa Convertible, capable of a 185mph top speed. A real one would set you back a cool £85,000.

On the road to victory you must also avoid obstacles and collisions. If you run off the road, your girl, who appears to be dark-haired rather than blonde, as in the arcade version, turns and appears to slap you. If the crash is more severe, you both end up sitting stunned on the verge and she points an accusing finger at you.

There are two gears - high and low - which can be used to accelerate, decelerate and manoeuvre through the curves. In principle, you select low gear to get through curves and high gears to bomb down the straights.

Points are scored for driving well but if you fail to complete the course within the time limit, you are disqualified and it's back to the start. You can choose to follow any of the five courses, each with different scenery.

The graphics are rather blocky, especially the roadside buildings and crowds. The lines across the lower half of the CBM version I found really annoying. But the sound and music are really great.

But when it comes down to it, a driving simulation must be drivable. And that's where I felt it was lacking. For too much of the time I felt I was out of control and getting nowhere.