Superstars V8 Next Challenge

That The First game existed was baffling enough, but a year on there's inexplicably a sequel to Superstars 1/8. This championship is an obscure touring car series based out of Italy that sees V8-powered saloons duking it out over a series of primarily European circuits. It's not televised in the UK and as a result it might as well be the Yemeni Banger Racing Championship for all most players care.

The game itself is a tired looking racer - while there's a sharpness to the car models and textures, the race circuits are so lacking in atmosphere they might as well be on the moon. Similarly simplistic is the handling, which is as subtle as a shovel to the face. It's essentially straightforward tail-happy arcade fare. With the caveat that if you get punted into a slide by a brain-dead opponent it becomes a challenge akin to guiding a catatonically trollied spouse to the bathroom so they can noisily chuck their guts.

Between races there's nothing interesting. The Championship mode is just a frill-free series of practice and race sessions and the challenge portion is a limp offering as well.

In the face of bombastic, exciting fare like Colin McRae: DiRT 2 it all seems as dry as cream crackers and, worse still, it's almost identical to last year's edition. Throw in a license that no-one has heard of, and we can't think of any reason to pick this up when the PC has a selection of the finest racing games around, whether simulations or arcades.