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Right, this is nice and simple. When you Were young, or younger, you had, or have, a Scalextric track. This clips together in various strange permutations to make up a racing circuit.

On this circuit you powered an electric model, taking care not to go too fast on the corners in case you came off, and not too slow on the straight, in case you get overtaken by your best friend who always got the Formula One model because you were playing it at his house. And the hand controllers overheated.

Half the time, of course, you had to trim those metal braids which were supposed to make contact with the tracks but rarely did. No such problems with the latest game from Codemasters.

You and an optional friend have to steer cars around one of a selection of racing tracks. You have to go faster than he does but not come off the tarmac. And that's it.

There must be more to it than that, you cry. You should worry. You don't have to write a page full of description about the thing. Well, there are a few frills to go with the spills and thrills. As well as beating your buddy's lap time, you can go for the course record and thus the giddy heights of the High Score Table.

If you don't have a friend, and some people don't, the computer thoughtfully provides you with a drone car to race against.

From time to time tools appear on the track. Driving over these also increases your score in the usual manner. Beware, as you speed about the course of any oil slicks that might ooze out of the ground in front of you, Again, their effect on your trajectory is predictable but nonetheless tragic for all that.

The skill lies in the cornering. Your vehicle slides around the place in a worrying manner, and a deep appreciation of the Newtonian mechanics of the affair is vital. Unless you want to make close friends with the verge, of course.

Other salient features are the inevitable Jon-Paul "George-Ringo" Eldrige music on the intergame screen, and some guttural voices informing you of the staggeringly obvious. I had hoped that the promised "Digital Voice Synthesis" might have a little of the "And Nigel MANsell has SPUN off the TRACK aGAIN" commentary in true Murray Walker style. But no. Perhaps the next generation of games machines...

In truth, the adage "Just taking the car for a quick spin" takes on more than a little verity with this one.

You can choose which keys to use, but. the sensitivity of the car and the friction coefficient of the track/tyre interface take a lot of getting used to.

Another tricky bit for the first time track traverser lies under the bridge. If you are sliding about from verge to verge, and you get stuck under the bridge, then there's nothing to do except wait for the timeout (or press the Escape key - wimp!).

If you think you're a bit nifty behind the wheel, shoehorn yourself in behind the joystick. It might be a surprise.

Another Codemasters production! And... yes, here it is... "Absolutely Brilliant," it says on the insert. Some things never change. The vocabulary, for example. Cheap jibes aside, (the "superbly drawn graphics" are small orange/grey/red rectangles with a white splodge!) this is a pretty good game. I generally think that Grand Prix should be pronounced as spelled, but this is rather fun. It's very difficult to get. going, but once you do, just try stopping!

Activision has its work cut out to produce a better "Super Sprint" clone than this one. True, a few frills can be added like the odd helicopter, but Grand Prix Simulator is excellent.

When the review copy came in I called my friends to tell them how wonderful it is. The drone car has a tendency to get lost and the game is very difficult, but still challenging. The speech was recognisable and added to the game. A brilliant game. And it's budget..

Your car is revving up, a cool detached voice is announcing the starters orders, and you're away. Actually getting the car to do what I wanted it to was a major feat in itself, but then I always tend to panic at high speeds.

I spent a couple of hours watching the arcade game being played a few weeks ago, and this compares very favourably. I particularly liked the two-person option, and the facility to set your own key controls. These minor details attended to, you whizz about, collecting spanners whenever they appear and completing your required number of circuits to move on to higher things.

A must for all budding speed fiends.