London Racer: World Challenge

"The ultimate cannonball run across the globe!" barks the press release. "Another dreary Davilex racing game consigned to the hinterland of the reviews section", we respond. It doesn't seem to have overtly harmed them thus far though, with London Racer 1 and 2 allegedly selling 600,000 copies in the UK alone (including PS2).

A clear case of not fixing what isn't broken, London Racer - World Challenge is effectively a 12in remix of everything that's gone before, and manages to rack up some impressive numbers, with 76 tracks, 23 cars and 16 famous cities, including London, Paris, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles and Stoke (actual truth may differ). However, for all its cosmopolitan intent, major landmarks aside, you'd struggle to differentiate between a lot of them. Some indigenous flavour is added by the inclusion of localised radio stations, although this s is somewhat tarnished when they begin to repeat within the space of a lap. Otherwise, it's business as usual, with some leaden handling, bland graphics and derivative ideas.

Despite the city settings, the tracks are largely linear, with the route demarcated by great big orange arrows. Power-ups are limited to nitro boosts and damage repairs, but races are generally fairly close affairs. Complications are provided by the police and ambient traffic, and it's basically a poor man's version of Midnight Club II. They can't even afford a handbrake. Cheapskates.