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Offroad racing is very much the 'in' thing with driving game programmers of late, and you could well expect the latest product to cash in on the craze to be the best so far, what with it being on the Super Nintendo and all that.

Unfortunately, the many faults of RPM (it stands for Radical Psycho Machine, not Revs Per Minute) Racing prove beyond doubt that it doesn't matter how sexy a console may be, the games on it can still be a technical and gameplay abortion.

RPM Racing is very similar in style and presentation to the GameBoy's Super RC Pro-Am, reviewed in January. But whereas the handheld game was fast, smooth and controllable, RPM Racing distinctly lacks these qualities. Four cars do battle over a series of eight-way scrolling isometric-perspective tracks, bouncing over hills and ramps, performing hairpin turns and generally bashing into each other.

Much has been made of the high-resolution graphics, which look vaguely like the Amiga's HAM mode and have allowed for some very pretty definition and light-shading on the vehicles as they bounce about.

Unfortunately, it seems the price we pay for all this technical wizardry is horribly jerky scrolling, sluggish, almost undetectable car control and, on the whole, slow and frustrating racing.

Presentation-wise, RPM is slick, offering various car modifications, 120 tracks with 24 difficulty levels and earn a course designer. These, however, are all pretty pointless additions if the main thrust of the game isn't up to much, and so ultimately RPM Racing comes over as the sort of game you'd really like to have a lot of fun with, but just can't because it's so steadfastly unplayable. A real shame.