Live For Speed

The internet may be all well and good when it comes to shooting virtual terrorists with virtual guns, but one gaming arena undernourished by online action is that of the racer. There-have been attempts in the past to cater for armchair drivers - e-Racer and Motor City Online are the most notable failures, and a pocket'community of Grand Prix Legends fans is still going strong - but by and large, if you can't shoot it, it ain't getting played.

Hoping to change perceptions are the three guys behind Live For Speed. In basic terms, it's a car physics demo, but it's because it's such a realistic one that the racing side of the game works as well as it does. Handling is spot on, with slides, handbrake turns and controlled skids all feeling very realistic. Plus, because you can customise your entire car, from spring stiffness to paint job, then take your pride and joy onto the Net to face off against a dozen others, you really feel as though you've something to prove to the faceless masses in virtual land.

The community is small at the moment, although the level of skill on display is frighteningly high. There's not much of a single-player game on show - the Al isn't functional in any real sense and there's a very obvious bug that makes unlocking the two top cars a breeze - but LFS has been designed to be played online and it works better than anyone could have imagined.