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Great sound - shame about the game! This release in Mastertronic's new M.A.D. range features some absolutely brilliant sounds from ace composer Rob Hubbard and some pretty graphics from programmer Dave Darling. But gameplay doesn't match up to the frills.

The basic theme of the game is this: The year is 2008, the world has suffered a global nuclear war and a global nuclear winter. You survived both as you were working on a secret project deep within a bunker - that special project was The Last V8. This is a real super-car, shielded from radiation, computerised and powerful.

And you are going to use it to attempt to contact the remnants of mankind left on earth after the holocaust. But there is still danger on the surface. Unexploded nuke-warheads which detonate from time to time. Fortunately your car warns you of an imminent blast and you must dash for safety inside a shielded bunker before it goes off. You have to dash from shelter to shelter in a bid to discover the survivors.

Your V8 is difficult to control. You'll find yourself skidding off the road and into the landscape at every available opportunity when you first load the game. Practice might just make you a better driver - should you wish to persevere with the game...

The roads you must travel twist and turn with alarming regularity - but there are some short cuts - across the nicely drawn landscape.

The voice synthesis feature at the start of each game is simply annoying after a couple of listens! And you can't turn it off...

V8 is a nicely presented program - but without much substance.