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Riding high on the wave of nautical enthusiasm inspired by the Americas Cup, comes Sailing from Activision - a simplified simulation which attempts to give a realistic viewpoint of yacht race as seen from the vessel's bow.

Before you are even allowed near a boat, the level of play has to be selected to determine your starting position in the league table, and hence the difficulty and length of the race.

The basic design of the ship can then be altered to suit the long-range weather forecast, which scrolls past at the bottom of the screen. A blueprint of your vessel is shown, with the variable dimensions represented numerically. Adjustments to the craft are joystick controlled, with forward and back selecting the desired option, and left and right changing its value. The blueprint is constantly re-drawn as the dimensions are altered.

Aspects of the ship's design which can be changed include: the overall length; water-line length; height of the hull from the water-line, and mast length. It's also possible to change the material from which the hull is made, and add wings to the keel for stability.

Having settled on a design, it's then time to get down to some serious racing...

A list of potential opponents is highlighted, and their ship's blueprints presented for inspection - enabling you to decide which team to race against. When an adversary has been selected, the race begins... the screen display changes to show a view from the bow of your ship, with your opponent lying abreast of you, facing the first buoy. The objective is simple: sail around three buoys as quickly as possible - and beat the opposition to the final flag.

The craft is controlled by steering left and right, and raising and lowering the spinnaker for extra speed when the wind is favourable. The sail is 'winched' by rotating the joystick - anti-clockwise to raise, and clockwise to lower.

Beneath the view-screen is a panel showing details relevant to the race: the wind speed/direction and spinnaker status (up, lowered or stowed). There's also a radar screen, showing the positions of your ship, your opponent, and the buoys which define the course of the race.

After five days of racing, you are given a week in which to trim your vessel in readiness for the next bout of competition. Inspecting the league positions and competitors' blueprints allows you to see how the different designs respond to the current weather conditions, enabling you to achieve optimum performance from your ship.

At first sight you would be tempted to think that a sailing game would be deathly dull, but Sailing surpasses all expectations. The view of the ocean is sufficiently realistic to give most people an odd sensation in high seas, and the sight of your opponent pulling away makes play both atmospheric and exciting.

The only drawback might be the lack of variety between races - the course always remains the same, and once the controls have been mastered interest could well disappear.

I thought that a sailing program would never really work on a computer, but I was wrong - this is very playable and exhilarating. Mind you, it's not really a boating simulation - more of an unusual arcade race game.

You don't have to worry too much about trimming the sails and all that, the trick is getting the wind behind you and whizzing around the course as quickly as possible. The initial opposition is easy to beat, but later countries are very skillful and a lot of practice is necessary before they can be overcome.

The boat design screen is great and epitomises the program's superb presentation. All in all, this is a nice race game - requiring skill and clear thinking rather than ultra-fast reflexes and nimble fingers.

What a pleasant surprise this turned out to be. I wouldn't have expected a sailing game to be so absorbing - but I became thoroughly involved after only a few plays.

There's very little real "substance" to it - sailing around a triangular course, coping with a single competitor and differing weather conditions... it doesn't sound like much fun. But it is!

The music works remarkably well, and combined with the simple but effective spot FX, generates a gripping atmosphere. The sea moves convincingly, and, surprisingly, watching the waves tends to induce malaise more than when you are actually sailing!

My only real complaint is that the instructions don't go into enough detail, which is annoying but not overly off-putting.

Presentation 90%
Superb, although the instructions could have been a bit better.

Graphics 76%
Little variety, but what's there is convincing and effective.

Sound 91%
A fabulous atmosphere is generated by a great tune combined with suitable spot FX.

Hookability 86%
Easy enough to get to grips with, although the lack of information regarding the wind direction and use of spinnaker can prove a mite confusing.

Lastability 60%
Mildly compulsive, but sadly lacking variety - a two player, head-to-head option would have compensated.

Value For Money 71%
A touch overpriced considering its limitations.

Overall 80%
An atmospheric surprisingly playable boat racing game.