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Nope, this isn't another one of those games about murdering and maiming, starring a host of Arnie look-alikes. It's an overhead racing game with the dinkiest of cars racing around a screen bulging with track. Carnage is eight levels of sheer mayhem for one- or two-players.

The view is from overhead, and the circuits all fit on one-screen. You can't skid off the track, because you bounce off the sides but this does damage your car, as does crashing into other road-users. (Hey! realism!) Check out the gauge next to the spanner icon for an indication of how badly your vehicle has been bashed up. When the meter reaches the top, all sorts of weird noises start to come from the speakers, black smoke pours from your exhaust and your car slows down to a near stop.

Luckily, on each track there's a strange blue stripy area, which is the pit. Pull into the pit and within a few seconds your car will be up to full performance... and all the other cars will have raced two laps in front of you. There is a lesson to be learnt here - don't drive into the wall, then you won't have to stop. To progress through the eight tracks, you have to come in pole position which is not too hard on the first few levels, but as you move on, the tracks get windier, there are more hazards and you have to complete more laps. But between each game you can buy extras to soup up your motor.

A groovin' dance tune accompanies the intro screen and the buying bit [Music to drive by? - Ed]. If you have to turn away from the screen for a while hit Pause, but don't forget to turn the volume down on your monitor; the programmers forgot to make the sound effects switch off along with the action so the noise of four revving cars carries on at the same pitch and volume until you hit space to play again - enough to give anyone a headache.

I always used to be wary of driving games with an overhead viewpoint. My preference is for a through-the-windscreen view. But once I'd settled down with Carnage I started to rather enjoy this simple little game.

Saying that, it may feel too easy for hardened overhead racers, simply because you've got quite a lot of leeway for mistakes to be made (the tracks are quite a bit wider than your average dual-carriageway).

Not quite Super Cars standard, but not bad. Play that demo we gave you last month, and use a bit of imagination for the extras. -

1. Lots of extras boost what could have been a basic racing game.
2. Two-player mode is deliciously antagonistic.
3. Fabulous intro tune.

1. Not much of a challenge for experienced computer racers.
2. Sound effects that won't shut up.