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Charity, it would seem, is currently the name of the game. Preferably served up with several bucketfuls of glitz and as much razzmatazz as can be crammed into any one place at a time.

And why not? There are more deserving causes in this world than many of us will ever realise, and if people have to be prodded by a cavalcade of celebrities before they'll dip into their pockets, then so be it.

The trouble is that some of these philanthropic efforts seem to be long on hype but short on quality. The original multi-national fund raiser, Band Aid, was not only in aid of a worthwhile cause but it produced a great record in its own right.

Yet some of the follow up attempts have been notable mainly for the number of "superstars" seen bobbing up and down in the background who provoke the reaction: "Cor I haven't seen him/her for years".

The latest of these global events is Sports Aid 88, one of the highlights of which is the worldwide Race Against Time in September.

In the 1986 event Omar Khalifa, the legendary Sudanese athlete, led the way for 20 million people in 89 countries to raise money. Omar Khalifa now features in The Race Against Time game from CodeMasters, who are donating the profits from the sales of the game to Sports Aid.

So, is TRAT just another fund raising attempt that fails to match up to its noble intentions? Most emphatically not. Based upon the theme of the Sports Aid programme, it has been coded by the Oliver Twins, whose own track record is impressive.

As Omar Khalifa, your task is to run around the world carrying the torch of Sports Aid 88. In order to encourage people to join Sports Aid, you must raise a flag and fight a flame in a bowl on each of six continents.

When you have completed this task you must run to the United Nations building and light the final flame.

You are running against the clock, so speed is of the essence, although you can gain more time by picking up the hour glasses you will find on your way: Travel between continents is accomplished by choosing a destination on the world map at the airport. There are more than 100 locations, many of which feature famous landmarks. It becomes a game within a game to identify the places as you go.

You will find a number of flashing arrows which will enable you to go "into" the screen to the next location.

At all costs avoid getting wet - this will douse the torch and the game will be over.

On your journey you will encounter many obstacles and find certain objects which will help you overcome them. The interest lies in determining which object will help with which obstacle.

As you play the game you will learn that locations have to be visited in the correct order to enable you to collect the objects you will require. Even when you have mapped out a correct strategy, success is not guaranteed. A number of obstacles require skill and coordination to overcome them.

TRAT provides an opportunity for all armchair fanatics to do their bit. For those people whose best developed muscle is in their joystick thumb, it provides an ideal way to join the rest of the world in the fun and games.

It's a very good game and a worthy cause. What more incentive could you want?

Too many software houses these days seem to confuse quantity with quality. Games come with five-inch thick rule books and accompanying mini novel written by a programmer with aspirations to be an author, whose idea of good writing is to strip every other verb out of the English language in order to make it run faster.

The Race Against Time has been designed for anyone to play, with few rules and commands to learn before getting down to the action. This is a point very much in its favour.

It is rare for a computer game to live up to its hype, but The Race Against Time does just that. The graphics and sound, including the music, are superb: the gameplay is simple but absorbing, due not only to the abundance of locations, but also to the speed with which one can jog through them.

Must be worth buying if only to see the sights and hear the sounds.

This game is good. From the concept, through the multiple locations and excellent graphics, to the accompanying music - a credible realisation of Peter Gabriel's Games Without Frontiers - The Race Against Time simply oozes quality.