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Why do people continue to bring out racing simulations with the likes of Pole Position and Pitstop II about? This is just one of three this month but at least it has the merit of being a motorcycle game.

You're not actually told what you're reacing, but whatever it is it's fast: six gears which take you up to 250mph and make the screen whizz round so quickly you start to feel sick. You have the option of racing on any of ten world circuits like Brands Hatch, all of whose shapes are faithfully reproduced on a little map. Quite why companies bother with this I'm not sure because, once you're careering around at speed, one bend looks much the same as another.

The rest test of obviously of these things is just how exciting and drivable the whole thing seems. Although the graphics are good, especially when you bank, Speed King leaves me behind a bit, I'm afraid. Once you've chosen your skill level, course and number of laps, you go straight into the game with nineteen other riders, all of whom are in front of you. So far so good, you've got to work your way through the field to win.

My grumble is with the controls. You have six gears and to change up you pull back on the stick, and to change down you push forward. You accelerate by keeping the fire button pushed down, but if you take your finger off the button you decelerate. You cannot hold constant speed and if you're used to other racing games you find yourself pushing the joystick forward and back and thus losing all momentum and crashing through the gears. It's a mite too sensitive.

This sounds like it's my problem, but I can see a lot of other people suffering it as well, especially if they're used to any of the other racing games. Speed King is alright as far as it goes, but it adds nothing new to this type of game.