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Hover Sprint is the latest budget release from the Codies. And, as is often the case with Codies games, what you get is exactly what the title says - a hovercraft race simulation.

It's solid filled 3D too, and comes on a couple of disks - exactly the sort of product that two years ago would have been bound to come with a full price sticker on it.

Sounds interesting, you might think. Well, yes. While it's not up to the likes of Vroom and Formula One Grand Prix of course - you could hardly expect it to be - it does manage to be comparable with the likes of Hard Drivin' or Powerdrome, no mean feat. In fact, imagine the futuristic setting of Powerdrome added to the basic Hard Drivin' gameplay and you'll have a pretty good idea of what we're talking about here. (We'll leave the fact it's not as good as either aside for the moment.)

Despite the sophisticated look, what happens in the game is simple. You select the type of (hover)craft you want to race - and there are a good number of designs to choose from. You pick automatic or manual gears, depending on which racing craft you select. You practise a circuit or go to the race menu and select from a number of different race tracks. You pick how many laps you want to race, or if you want to try out against a chum (through a serial link). And you race.

Unfortunately this is where all the good intentions become a bit unstuck. Once you're actually playing it, the game proves to be tedious, slow and lacking in any real feeling of speed - this is one of those games that looks a lot better in the screenshots than actually moving.

It's also fairly uncontrollable - more a giant dodgem event than anything else, but one made all the more frustrating by the waiting around to be allowed to restart every time you get bumped off the track.

All in all then, more of an interesting development - solid 3D used for original budget games - than a worthwhile release. It'll be interesting to see if and how this trend for more and more sophisticated budgies develops, but in the meantime you're better off sticking with similar re-releases.

It's more bovver racing a hover! Interesting concept - and ambitious for a budget game - but really very so-so.