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At last, a decent version of OutRun. The ST version has been a long time brewing at US Gold but it has been worth the wait.

There can't be a computer games fan in the country who hasn't by now had a go on the best driving coin-op ever released. If you haven't, just let me describe it as every red-blooded male's fantasy - a Ferrari Testarossa, an open Californian coastal highway, a beautiful blonde beside you, and the sun in the sky.

The 8-bit versions received a mixed reception from the reviewers but the games-playing public loved it - making it the best-selling game of last year, also voting it C&VG readers Game of the Year at the Golden Joysticks Awards.

If you are lucky enough to own an ST you are in for a treat. The best thing about this version is that it is OutRun in its entirety extended play levels, the map at the end of each session showing you your progress, and most of the graphical thrills and spills of the coin-op are here.

Don't get me wrong. This is a far from perfect conversion - but it does succeed in getting the fun and excitement of the coin-op across on a home machine in a way that the other versions fail to. That in itself is a considerable achievement.

The lasting appeal of this fairly simple, against-the-clock, driving challenge has been greatly increased by the addition of several gameplay options.

Graphics are competent in this version - though not in the super league. They aren't very smooth.

Apart from these moans about the animation the drawings themselves are fine.

What really sets the ST version apart from the C64 and Speccy renderings of OutRun is the sound. Here is the OutRun music on a home system for the first time, courtesy of David Whittaker, probably the best computer music around now that Hubbard has hopped off to California.

US Gold can breathe a hefty sigh of relief with this version of the brilliant Sega coin-op. A lot was expected of the first 16-bit version and no one need be embarrassed about it.

If you own an ST you simply mustn't be without a copy of OutRun. A game to keep coming back to.