Speed Busters Review

8.5

Format PC

Developer Ubisoft

Publisher Ubisoft

Genre Racing / Driving

He's never been busted for speed. He can't drive, the tit. Steve Hill is obviously the man to put behind the wheel

To all but the most blinkered of idiots, it's obvious that there is a proliferation of driving games for the PC. Punters seem to lap them up though, and the challenge to developers must be in coming up with an original twist. Of course, yer Carmageddon opted for the merciless slaughter of innocent pedestrians, whereas Need For Speed III has the long arm of the law breathing down your neck, if you'll excuse the double metaphor. Ultim@te Race Pro has a devious deathmatch, and the futuristic Motorhead simply goes like shit off a shovel. All very nice. So what cunning take have the developers of Speed Busters attempted? Suffice to say that it's not a documentary.

Outrageous arcade racing is the order of the day. If you're the kind of person who gets gratification from camshaft specifications and tyre pressures, then you're better off sticking to Grand Prix Legends (PCZ #69, 90%). Speed Busters is for morons. But of course, there's a bit of moron in us all - as a quick glance round the office confirms - and the game does what it sets out to do, providing instant mindless fun for the man who doesn't have time to mess about. Easy to pick up and play, if a little harder to put down, the action proves to be a frantic tribute to The Dukes Of Hazzard, Gumball Rally, Freebie And The Bean, The Blues Brothers and any other low-rent American car chase movie you can think of. There's also a heavy dose of cultural references thrown in to add to the confusion.

SPEED FREAK

It's clearly not for the purist, and simply finishing with your car in one piece is a sizeable part of the challenge, with pushing and shoving par for the course. If you're particularly proficient at braking in a straight line and accelerating into the apex of a bend, you've been wasting your time. Your best bet here is to hammer the nitro until the last second, yank on the handbrake and then tear out of the turn with no regard whatsoever for your personal safety. It's only a game, but even if it wasn't you'd be in no danger. Plummeting off the highest of cliffs represents no threat to your life, as a magical invisible hand places you back on the track within seconds. In that sense, it's a bit like driving a Scalextric car. Except different.

And there's more. Not only are you faced with some frankly dangerous terrain, but a number of obstacles - both natural and man-made - also intermittently present themselves. This is where the game could potentially provide a split in the camp. Picture the scene: you're cruising round the first track (based on a Hollywood film set), the wind's in your hair, you think you're pretty cool. Then a dinosaur appears from nowhere and treads on your car. Depending on your mood, this is either a hilarious aside or an incredibly annoying novelty. Each track has it own unique hazards, but other cars are equally at their mercy, and it can be a thing of joy to find two or three cars in distress while you sneak through the tiniest of gaps. The numerous obstacles ensure that each lap is slightly different, and the race certainly ain't over till it's over. Ludicrous shortcuts also feature, such as driving on to a train or being airlifted by a chopper. A reasonable amount of skill is required to use them though, and almost every course of action has some kind of payoff.

STUFF THA POLICE

All this tomfoolery might lead you to assume that Speed Busters is a shallow affair, but the driving model is actually fairly sound, based on a hybrid of Ubi Soft's Pod (PCZ #49, 90%) and Monaco Grand Prix (PCZ #69, 92%) engines. It certainly moves at pace, and there's barely time to take in the lush scenery, let alone pre-empt the numerous obstacles.

The championship mode has a well-stocked shop where you can buy upgrades and a variety of skins, enabling you to constantly customise your car. You can even insure yourself against damage. Bizarrely, money is earned by speeding through radar traps, and in a curious twist, the police award cash for speeding (something about a cop winning a million dollars on the lottery). As we said, it's not a documentary; if it was, Alistair Stewart would have plenty to froth about.

So, it's winner's dinners for Speed Busters. It's an idiot-proof racing game that has you frantically slapping your keyboard for another go, while providing enough variety to keep you interested in the long term. Of course, no one will probably remember it in six months' time, but in the meantime it's 30 quid well spent.