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The California sun does strange things to people, especially those in open-topped cars. Why do we say this? Because it makes them want to Power Drift! To charge around insane circuits constructed out of old railway sleepers at 243 kph, taking hairpin bends on two wheels hollering insults at each other.

In arcades the world over, the coin-op has caused people to lose their lunch on a stomach-churning ride to the limits of motor racing and beyond. Risking being hurled into space after cresting hills and finding a ninety-degree hairpin staring them in the eye was what drew them back time and time again!

Power Drift is a racing fantasy, super-powered off-road cars racing head to head over a course more suited to roller coasters than cars! The essence of the game is summed up in its name, a mad charge into corners losing all traction in a bid to get past that bozo who just span you out.

The arcade was the natural successor to Out Run, with its hydraulic cabin taking you right over the high side. We all saw what a dog that turned out to be, though, so can there be any hope for Drift?

Yes. More than hope, there's glory there too if you're crazy enough to try. After months of work Activision's programmers (the same team which did WEC Le Mans) have managed to come up with an awe-inspiring nightmare of a game that redefines the parameters for fantasy racing on the CPC. Five different courses have been shoehorned into 64K in a drive you'll never forget.

Set in the California desert, the tracks are made out of rough tarmac, loose gravel and logged overpasses. They aren't long drawn out affairs like Le Mans or Monaco but tight, small sprint circuits where he who dares wins and those who ride and slide come out on top. Victory on these roads is harder than you might first think, though. The track is narrow, and the competition fierce. The other cars aren't just there as moving obstacles but actually race you to the line. Four laps of mayhem are the result as twelve dune racers battle it out for third place or better to qualify for the next round.

Races need drivers, and a batch of 20-odd road-hogs are ready and willing to let you ride their machines. Rumour has it that one of Sega's infamous unannounced options was a different personality for each driver, with the lady in blue (supposedly a racing mechanic) taking the title of the heaviest right foot in town - something the programmers of the conversion rigorously deny. But if Sega can do it, why can't Activision?

After choosing whose colours you'll defend on the field of high octane honour, it's time to choose your track. Here the brownie points really start to pile up. because there are a staggering (and if you complete them all you will be staggering!) 27 totally original tracks to burn rubber on. Multi-loaded in themed batches of five per course, they form a progressively increasing challenge.

There are different locales to look at in the background, but it's the tracks and their twists and turns that matter. Just for good measure there are two bonus levels thrown in too - just like the arcade - one simple and one ultra tough.

Once you've made a choice, the countdown is on. A winged light clock clicks off and you throttle up and head into the unknown. The only way to play this game and win is by a combination of practice and a photographic memory. As you jockey for position down an opening straight, always, always keep both eyes on the road for signs of that first and crucial bend. Cars pull up alongside you, in front of and behind you, ready to take advantage of the slightest slip and send you spinning into space.

As soon as the corner appears, slam on the the power and swing the car into a slide, aiming at the apex - and with practice you'll be able to exit perfectly. Reading the road you'll develop a sixth sense for when to straighten up and scream past the opposition. Get it wrong and every driver on the track will try to nudge you into the barriers - or worse, into space.

The slides are the focus of Power Drift and they add a whole new element to the art of driving. No longer have you got to sit behind some bozo who thinks fast means 28.5 miles per hour. Drop into a bend at the right speed and you'll drift past them. The effect is enhanced by the cars' handling. None of this quantum stuff - one press of a button and you're facing ninety degrees left. You can regulate the degree of control you surrender to skidding in an attempt to win.

The graphics aren't going to win any awards for prettiness. They're blocky, but they work! They move at speed, the colours are bright and they respond quickly to your hurried joystick waggles. They capture the spirit of the arcade even if they do fail to imitate it directly. What is important though is not that it look like the coin-op but plays like it, and the compromise is well struck.

The music is straight from the arcade - and is therefore highly annoying - and sounds off during most of the races. The graphic demand on the poor Z80 means that on some tracks the sound effects are absent, but who need the noise when you're undertaking someone at a ton plus?

The most impressive feature of both arcade and CPC versions is the way the elevated tracks seem to be supported by nothing, just appearing out of the horizon. Spinning off here can have you skidding to a stop and rejoining in mid air, or sent on a spectacular slide right across other parts of the track.

You've only got two gears in this race for speed freaks - fast and very fast. The flexible control on the corners and visual clarity make Power Drift an excellent choice for the car nut this Christmas, and an absorbing test of reaction for the any committed games' player. The short tracks require maximum concentration, meaning that all the races are winnable but unforgiving of the slightest mistake.

We've always been told not to drink and drive, but to Drift and drive is electrifying. It's legal, you get better control and it's much, much more dangerous...

Not as fast as the arcade original, but what do you expect? The fascinating, twisting courses still spin at you from nowhere though - just like the arcade. Very, very playable. Come on Trent, let's have another go...

Complete four tracks in a row.

It gets the green light from here.

Graphics 82%
N. Unsophisticated...
P. ...controllable and fast!

Sonics 62%
P. Arcade theme music is well duplicated.
N. Sometimes the sound effects disappear.

Grab Factor 94%
P. Dangerous, high-speed fun.
P. The arcade's humour is still there.

Staying Power 86%
P. 25 tracks!
N. Finishable, but that won't stop you coming back for more!

Overall 91%
P. Mould-breaking racing fun!