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Football being so popular in this country, it's no wonder there should be a stream of variants on the game - usually violent and futuristic ones. Ocean are having yet another stab by involving another national obsession - cars.

Wild Wheels is a game played on a pitch by five players in each team, each of whom drives a car. The object is to get the metal ball, which is thrown out from the middle of the pitch, into the other team's goal by driving up to it. Touch the ball and it sticks to the front of your car. Then, all you have to do is drive full pelt towards the goal and whack it in by hitting Fire. If another player has the ball, slamming into his car usually makes him drop it sharpish, but you can't do this too often because you only have a certain amount of armour plating. Too many bumps and bang - literally - goes your vehicle.

You always control the Strike car. The other (ST-controlled) players on your team have specific roles: Killer cars try to nobble the other team's strongest cars; Fetchers try to get the ball and pass it to you; Blockers stop the other team's Killers from getting at you; and Guards are like goalkeepers.

Occasionally, bonus tiles flash on the pitch with tempting offers like double points. Drive over them to collect the extras. Some of them, like the Acceleration Suit and Full Licence, are necessary for you to be able to drive the more powerful cars.

The sound is actually more impressive than the graphics in Wild Wheels. There's a nice meaty revving effect as you bomb up and down the pitch, but the other spot effects are weedy and disappointing. The cars are on the small side but decently animated, and the 3D works well.

Wild Wheels is a nice idea that could do with a few more embellishments. Graphically, it's not really up to the job. The cars look too puny and the pitch is quite bare. There's definitely not enough violence - a few knocks put you out of commission easily. Driving takes a while to get used to - the first few games you overshoot and skid about everywhere, while the other team maddeningly piles up the score.

Wild Wheels is enjoyable enough for a while, and some people will undoubtedly enjoy working through the leagues and hitting the big time. But, on the whole, it's a bit of a missed opportunity.

1. Speedball is slicker and faster, but less immediately playable.
2. The cars are closer to those in Supercars 1 and 2 than the sort of revved-up monsters in Vroom.