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Those people who saw the jerky, slow and rather unconvincing pre-pro version of Wildtrax (also known as Stunt Race FX) at the Spring ECTS weren't expecting much from the finished game. Despite the fact that it boasted the next-generation Super FX chip (approximately 30% faster than the original one), the game looked like it was all set to be the first Nintendo dud.

But an amazing transformation has been effected since then. Nintendo have hacked away all the rough edges, and what we're left with is a slick and obscenely playable racing game. Wildtrax is in fact one of the most innovative and ambitious attempts at a console racing game since, well, since Virtua Racing on the Mega Drive. But whereas Virtua Racing was designed as a money-spinning coin-op and converted to the Mega Drive only after it had achieved success in the arcades, Wildtrax has been developed specifically for the SNES, and it shows. Virtua Racing suffered in its transition to the Mega Drive, but Wildtrax has been designed with the SNES's limitations in mind, and it's a better game as a result.

There are four different track options available: Speed Trax, Stunt Trax, Battle Trax and Practice Trax. In Speed Trax, one player races three computer-controlled cars around various courses, trying to reach checkpoints in order to qualify for the next, even more treacherous, course. Choose Super Trax and you have to negotiate ramps, water jumps, bumpy roads and other obstacles, collecting bonus stars on the way. Battle Trax has two players racing against each other with the help of a split screen, and Practice Trax consists of, well, practice tracks.

Each of the four options offers you a choice of three vehicles: a 4WD jeep, a saloon car and a racing car. Each vehicle has its own characteristics: the jeep, for example, is slow but resilient, while the racing car is very fast but easily damaged. There are also three skill levels: Novice, Expert and Masterclass. Reach the halfway point on any one of them and you enter a bonus round; this might involve driving a lorry around a twisting obstacle course or riding a sports bike around a speed circuit.

So, as a package, Wildtrax scores very well - there's something here for everyone. But in terms of gameplay, it scores even higher. Just like StarFox, the first Super FX game, Wildtrax takes a while to get used to - don't expect to be immediately impressed. The control system seems awkward at first, but your perseverance will be rewarded: after a few hours' practice you'll be able to powerslide around a corner, ignite the 'boost' and swerve around falling boulders with relative ease. It's then that you discover what an engrossing piece of software this is.

In addition to playing well, Wildtrax looks fantastic. If you weren't impressed with StarFox's graphics and still need to be convinced of the Super FX chip's abilities, take a look at this. The cars scale convincingly, the track moves accurately and the 3D update is impressively fast. There's also a ridiculous amount of texture mapping - much more than in Virtua Racing. Just like Virtua Racing, Wildtrax lets you choose from a variety of views, but the difference is that all of the views in Wildtrax are useful. The first view is positioned behind and slightly above the car. The second is the 'chase helicopter' view, which, unlike its Virtua Racing equivalent, actually allows you to see your car - you don't have to squint to make out a tiny dot on the track. And the third view will suit Ridge Racer aficionados down to the ground: no part of the cockpit or steering wheel is visible; all you see is a fast-moving polygon track.

If Virtua Racing had attitude, Wildtrax has personality - bucketloads of it. In classic Nintendo fashion, it's cute, but not sickeningly so. From their headlight eyes to the way they bounce and bob around the track, it's obvious that these cars have character. When you screech around a bend, parts of the car fly off and are left lagging behind, catching up again just in time for the next corner. It's all delightful stuff.

So, is there anything damning to say about Wildtrax? Well, unfortunately, yes. Firstly, it's not as good for two players as it could have been. The screen update is noticeably slower in two-player mode and the split-screen play area is too small. The sad fact is that although the Super FX chip can cope perfectly well in one-player mode, it simply isn't up to shifting all those polygons twice over. It's just a bit disappointing, considering the breath-taking brilliance of the rest of the game, that Wildtrax couldn't match the excellent two-player mode of the non-SFX Super Mario Kart. Oh, and although the sound effects in Wildtrax are wonderful - the revving engines are particularly impressive - the typically Nintendo music is a little too cutesy for most people's liking.

But that's about it. Apart from those minor deficiencies, Wildtrax is a fun and polished product. Virtua Racing was a great two-player game, but suffered from a restrictive one-player mode - if you crashed, you have to wait while your car span round and then came to a stop before you could continue racing. In Wildtrax, however, you don't really crash; you just bounce off the scenery and keep racing, and it's this non-stop action that makes the game so entertaining.

In short, Wildtrax offers a brilliantly varied menu for one player, and plays well enough in two-player mode to make it one of the best racing games currently available for any home system.