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The Last V8 is one of the first budget games to appear for the Atari computers, and is a very interesting release too.

During the Nuclear War you have stayed hidden in your base developing a super car - the V8. Now, in a desperate attempt to reach the remainder of mankind, you come out into the open only to discover that there is an unexploded nuclear bomb with only minutes left before it detonates.

So you must drive to your base in the short time remaining... but will you make it?

If you think Elektraglide is difficult, you will find this game even more so. It isn't so much that you have a very short time in which to return to base, but more a matter of controlling the V8.

Instead of a straightforward up, down, left and right to control the car you have left, right, accelerate and decelerate.

It is very easy to skid off the road at any speed, let alone the speeds that you have to travel at in order to reach the base in time.

To add to your troubles you have a limited amount of fuel and your radiation shield gets progressively weaker.

On the positive side, the graphics are excellent and the scrolling is very smooth.

The screen is divided into two: the top half shows a bird's eye view of your car as it travels along the road, and the bottom half shows your dashboard.

An ever-present onboard computer tells you how far it is to the base and how much time remains before the bomb goes off.

The Last V8 is a good game which lets itself down because it is extremely difficult to play. But at the asking price, it is certainly a worthwhile challenge.