Everyone who drives well will enjoy this game. Indeed, everyone who drives badly will enjoy it too, and even those who can't drive at all will enjoy E-Type - the 4th Dimension caters for all breeds of human.

Originally designed as a simulation, E-Type can be played with clutch, gears and other fiddly keys. Anyone not up to Mensa standards may get drastically confused, so there is the inclusion of an automatic gearbox for us lesser mortals.

To begin with, E-Type offers a beautiful loading screen followed by detailed and simple game selection. There are five tracks to choose from, in five different climates and surroundings varying from the freezing wastes of the Antarctica to the sweltering sands of the Sahara.

Driving a 5.3 litre, 12 cylinder V-12, seventy grand E-Type Jaguar - a convertible as is customary in all car games - capable of speeds of over 200mph, you motor far more casually down the two lane track, then you would if you owned the real thing.

The graphics are first rate, the scrolling very acceptable and the overall 3D effect is convincing, especially on hilly roads. Some perks of the game are flatterning PC Plod and pals and sending traffic cones into the air, with only a minor reduction in speed.

However, hitting awkwardly-placed boulders (in the middle of the overtaking lane!) is distinctly fatal. Water is also bad news and tends to end your country jaunt fairly promptly.

Your car can sustain a certain number of collisions (although it is rather degrading to watch your bumper fall off after a scrape with a pink Mini - also travelling at 150mph).

The sound is all decent samples and no annoying tunes tootling merrily in the background - the usual fare for car games. With knowledge that the samples come from Steve Botterill's very own Jag, I wonder whether the numerous crashing sounds stem from the same source?

The playability is good but is hindered by the fact that control is obtained via the mouse - not a patch on the arcade steering wheel! Still, after several games the mouse becomes natural and progression past the first corner is possible.

As a supplement to the game, the 4th Dimension sells a track designer for an additional £17. This is useful and fairly necessary as the tracks provided become familiar (and, dare I say, easy) after a while.

However, it is written in Basic and is unbearably slow, with a pretty bad front end, making designing new tracks rather tedious.

Overall, E-Type is a welcome addition to the ever growing Arc games market. The designer package does liven things up, but don't push your luck with Santa. Wait till you get your Christmas money.