Mention the name Out Run and everyone should immediately know what I'm on about. If not, where on earth have you been? Out Run was originally a coin-op that took the arcades by storm.

This was due in no small measure to the fact that the graphics were astounding (at the time) and the steering wheel had extremely realistic feedback (it even juddered if you strayed from the road).

When this monster was converted for the home it was given a slating which, looking back, was a bit unfair. People's hopes were too high, methinks. Now that it's a budget title it really does represent pretty good value.

The idea of the game is to drive through one of five courses - each of which contain five sub-stages - armed only with a Ferrari, your skill and a piece of rampant totty in the passenger seat (Commodore Format would like to stress that the phrase 'rampant totty' should in no way be seen as a sexist comment, rather that it attempts to convey a complimentary description of one of the game's characters - Ed).

When the starting lights turn green, shift into first gear and put your foot to the floor (this will do nothing whatsoever, so you'd be well advised to push joystick forward instead).

When the rev counter turns red, shift into top gear. All that remains is to negotiate the various tracks and complete the course. This is made difficult by the sheer volume of traffic and the undulations of the road, which sometimes prevent you seeing approaching corners.

Out Run does have it's faults and isn't an accurate conversion but then again anyone who thought it would be is out of his tree. It's fast, playable and looks good. What's more, it's a paltry £2.99.