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Hard on the tail of Death Race 16 which we reviewed last month comes Formula 1 Simulator by Mastertronic.

There's a basic difference of approach in Mastertronic's effort. Instead of buildings whizzing past your eyeballs at 200mph, formula one keeps the scenery on the horizon. The track is marked out by a little white stakes against a grassy green backdrop. The bottom half of the screen shows your instrument panel if you could call it that. In the centre is the steering wheel, this turns when you tweak the joystick or press the appropriate key, both options are included. Remaining time is shown on a countdown clock as is the time taken to complete the current lap. The bottom right-hand side of the screen shows your speed, geat, number of cars passed and of course your score.

If I were to criticise something, it would be the lack of challenge in the course. It doesn't exactly push you to the limits of your driving skills. The long straights which allow you to reach speeds of 300-400mph are terminated by either left or right-hand 45 degree bends. After a short while this becomes a bit predictable and therefore monotonous.

The other cars provide a tricky diversion. They don't go incredibly fast so the tendency is to race up behind them at breakneck speed. The only way to avoid a collision in these circumstances is to slam into low gear (there are only two). They can be passed quite easily, but it means losing a lot of time, especially if there are two or three in one spot. You are awarded bonus time on completion of each lap. To begin with, it takes longer to finish a lap than the time bonus you get for it. If this happens, you will run out of time after two or three laps and points will be added to your score for any cars you passed. With a bit of practice, it's possible to keep going for a lot longer.

Although Formula 1 Simulator is an easy game to master it has a continuity about it, you don't crash every five seconds. This makes it good fun, but it could have limited appeal.