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Street Machine is a motor racing simulation with a straightforward objective: to complete a set course as quickly and safely as possible.

Prior to a race the screen displays eight cars, one of which is chosen by the player. The race begins with an aerial view of the starting grid. The eight cars line up in pairs, with the chosen vehicle placed in the back row. A signal sounds... and they're off - the player's seven opponents under computer control.

If a corner is taken too quickly, the car skids off the road and crashes. A particularly horrific smash-up causes the car to explode, and disqualifies you from the race. If the crash is less severe, the screen changes to show a list of seventy car components and their 'damage total' percentages. A timer ticks down, and using a cursor the components have to be highlighted one at a time to reduce their damage number.

The object of this exercise is to get all the damage totals to below 30 within the alloted time - failure to do so results in the car becoming a write-off and being removed from the race. If the car is repaired in time however, it is put back on the road and allowed to carry on racing.

The race continues in this fashion until the course is completed or the car is disqualified. On completion, the time taken is displayed and the race starts again - although this time the roads are more slippery, and consequently the course is more difficult.

This is awful - there's no question about it. The gameplay is archaic and the damage screen is totally useless - adding as much to the action as a poke in the eye. The graphics are of similar ilk: eight unimaginative single-colour sprites racing over a poorly drawn landscape which judders and jerks as it scrolls. The sound is also pathetic, with the simplest of spot effects complementing the most rudimentary of explosions.

When you consider that for an extra quid you can buy Super Cycle or Pitstop II, it becomes pretty obvious that the whole package is grossly over-priced. I recommend you look elsewhere if you want a decent racing simulation.

Street Machine is a variation on a theme that has been around as long as the C64... *and we're all bored with it!*

I managed to survive one mindless hour of this today - it wasn't totally unpleasant, but I can't honestly see myself ever wanting to do it again. The graphics are of a standard that would have been laughed at three years ago - the sprites are blocky and poorly detailed, and the track scrolls abysmally.

The sound is also pretty limp, with a bog-standard engine noise and a couple of effects that are hardly likely to impress anyone. It just isn't good enough to warrant its high price - but these days, how many programs are?

I was slightly amused by Street Machine at first - but only because it's so bad. The action is slow, jerky and dated - just like the graphics, and then there are the awful sound effects... Basically, there's nothing even halfway decent about this game.

It's immensely overpriced, and offers little in the way of entertainment - well, apart from the unintentional initial amusement.

Presentation 64%
Reasonable instructions and in-game presentation.

Graphics 31%
Poor single-colour sprites, and a naff backdrop which doesn't scroll smoothly.

Sound 9%
A few sub-standard spot effects.

Hookability 32%
It's easy enough to get to grips with the simplistic gameplay, but there's not a great deal of rewarding action.

Lastability 18%
Racing games require thrills, action and exhilaration to make them worth playing. This hasn't any of those qualities.

Value For Money 10%
Vastly overpriced - there are better race games in the budget price range.

Overall 17%
Severely lacking action, excitement and a sensible price tag.