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Yet another game for driving freaks. Don't switch off yet, this one's the pick of the bunch.

And so the season of the driving game reaches its fume-filled climax, as the three main contenders, Continental Circus, Power Drift and Hard Drivin' come around the final bend and accelerate towards the line. Who will be the winner?

Hard Drivin' is the latest release of the triumvirate, and appears to be racing down an entirely different track altogether. Instead of 3-D sprites, (aka blob city), this game favours filled polygons, (aka Carrier Command or Starglider 2), and a solid 3-D world. Far in the distance you can see some of the obstacles on the stunt track, and other cars bravely trying to navigate them. This is more a simulation than a racing game, like the other two, as it features revs as well as speed, with you setting the revs and the terrain modifying them into your actual speed.

There are two circuits to try out: the speed track and the stunt track. Formula 4 drivers like you should stick to the speed track until you get the hang of the controls. Complete the circuit in a regulated time and you get a bonus time, to try and improve your performance some more. And watch out for the drivers on the other side of the road as well. Yes, despite these being self contained tracks, some of the other drivers insist on driving the wrong way round. It's the truck drivers you've got to watch out for. They're too busy eyeing up the women drivers and chewing Yorkie bars to notice where they are going.

All this is but a prelude to the horrors of the stunt track. The first horror on the landscape to traverse is the 45 degree drop off the cliff. A farmhouse and a cow stand peacefully watching drivers hurtle up to the precipice.

If your direction and speed are right then you drop down the ramp to the ground below. Get the line wrong and you miss the ramp altogether, leading to a viewing on the instant replay.

From then on there's the giant elevated bend, the underpass, the heart-stopping bridge and the nail-biting loop-the-loop. On that latter obstacle, it's hard enough just to stay in the middle and not sail out for a brief airborne sojourn. Just pray that no-one is coming round the loop from the other side.

The graphics of the 3-D world are blue and black, with a multicolour options menu and map, and are animated very nicely indeed.

You can also feel the impact when you sail off the cliff and miss the ramp. Tremendous fun, fairly difficult, and there's the Phantom Photon challenge for anyone who sets a top score.

Hard Drivin' offers a more aesthetic driving experience than the other two games, is visually stunning and probably ties with Power Drift for the title of Best Racing Game.