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Oh, for God's sake! Who are Empire trying to kid? It's bloody boiling out there and they're trying to make us run about and cycle and swim in some infernal sports game. Much as strenuous physical activity is absolutely out of order in such blistering conditions and the only jogging even worth considering is the horizontal variety, this particular offering is in fact worth a look, being one of the more enjoyable sportsters of the moment.

International Sports Challenge is, in distinction from many sport games currently available, no simple stick waggler, Instead, its a medley of events designed to realistically emulate the details of six international sports disciplines in some considerable detail.

But don't let that put you off. Although the game doesn't score quite so highly when it comes to high adrenaline, stick waggling excitement, each event is significantly different from the rest, making each a new challenge. You feel as if you're learning a new skill, rather than just waggling a different set of sprites into life.

As you would expect, you can pick and choose which events you fancy and play any combination you like The marathon is the only exception here since, true to its name, it is a bloody long event, the idea being to play the marathon along with the others, returning to check the progress of your runner as he slogs out the miles while flitting between the shorter events.

While I was a little disappointed to discover that Sports Challenge isn't Track & Field for the 90, I was most chuffed that Empire has steered sufficiently clear of all the ghastly menu-wading that often accompanies 'detailed' sports games. Every event, apart from the marathon, can be played individually or any combination with a minimum of fuss.

Considering that there's such a variety of sub-events (which diving board you wish to use, what sort of riding event, etc), it's a blessing that you can jump in almost immediately. It's a shame that you can't quit back to the menu with ESCAPE if you do select the wrong one, but it's hardly the end of the world.

Visually, Sports Challenge is not exactly a work of art, but at least the programmers haven't taken the easy route and made the competitors simply look 'funny'. Even in the places where the graphics don't work especially well, it's a refreshing change to be able to actually believe you're controlling a real human being, instead of a super-human sprite. The biggest let down of the whole package is the Trap Shooting, which looks like a bit of an afterthought, with some ropey and uninspiring graphics. It simply can't compare with the excitement of the Skeets and it looks a bit hurried.

On the whole, Sports Challenge is a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining sports sim. If you're feeling heroic enough to attempt every single event, thus embarking on the Marathon too, then I suspect you'll find it most rewarding.