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Following in the tracks of the best-selling BMX Simulator, Grand Prix Simulator, Fruit Machine Simulator and Simulator Simulator comes the one you've all been waiting for... ATV Simulator!!

Yes, CodeMasters have done it again, and produced a simulation that no-one else had even thought of. While the rest of us were happy in the knowledge that ATV was something we watched Neighbours on, the precious Darlings have discovered that it's really an All Terrain Vehicle, a kind of BMX with four wheels that can drive over practically any surface. Lots of scope there for a gruelling mud-churning hang-on-to-your-helmet type simulation, you'd have thought.

But as simulations go, this one doesn't get very far at all. Instead of opting for the realism and multiple options which made BMX Simulator so popular, programmers Clark and Francis have gone for a humdrum horizontally-scrolling screen format, and have attempted to liven up a dull and repetitive scenario with croc-infested swamps, performing seals and pyramids. The result isn't really a simulation at all, but a joke.

With options for one or two players, the game challenges you to mount and ride your ATV over ten short obstacle courses, completing each within the time and fuel limits.

The courses scroll across a split-screen, one course for each player, and range from simple 'sand-duning', where the biggest obstacles are rocks, to the more exotic delights of icebergs, desert and jungle. By the time you reach Tropicana, not only are you attempting to bounce on floating logs, but fight off flocks of attacking birds. God knows what the final courses hold in store.

The controls are devastatingly facile - left and right (cursor keys or 'stick) for moving in those directions, up/down for wheelies, and fire button or space bar for jumping. On the whole it's best not to drive too fast, and steep slopes should be approached with front wheels in the air. Jumping will give that extra boost when climbing.

Some minor obstacles can be leapt over at speed, others (like the pyramids and sphinx) negotiated slowly, and if you crash, you can quickly remount and then continue.

The game's saving grace is the two-player option, but that doesn't extend to a computer opponent. There's a hi-score table, and some typically jolly Code Masters music, but the game's also got some shoddy animation, insipid graphics and no sound effects worth mentioning.

The biggest sin is that the thing's altogether too easy, and that, coupled with the ridiculous crocs and seals, should be enough to drive most simulation fans up the wall. On their ATVs, of course.