Xtreme Wheels

Cycling will never replace the mighty car. Think about it: you can't even go shopping by bike, because if you purchase anything bigger than an orange, you end up looking stupid and inevitably fall on your arse on the way home. Having said that, one look at a set of bicycle clips will tell you that looking stupid has never been a great concern of the hardcore cyclist. No, let's face it – bikes just aren't sensible. But wait – what if you were to move the humble BMX indoors, and build bizarrely hilly courses to race on? Now, that would be fun, wouldn't it? If that sounds like your idea of a good time, then check out Xtreme Wheels on the Game Boy Color!

Saddle Sore

In this new racer from Nintendo, you take part in several race series, starting with Easy rounds for the BMX novice. You have to earn licenses by winning each series, which allows you to progress to harder leagues with longer, hillier courses. The basic gameplay is made tougher by the fact that you have to time your jumps quite accurately, otherwise you get a faceful of handlebar! Ouch!

The riders in the game each have a 'stamina bar' which tells you how knackered they are, so you have to learn to pedal in short bursts to succeed. The problem with this is that you frequently get miles ahead of everyone else, and then your rider gets tired and just stops pedalling! This allows all the other BMX bandits to come sailing past. This factor alone would be enough to send us flying into an uncontrollable rage, and the additional problems of dire sound and the same gameplay flaws repeated on every track, mean that there really isn't any point buying this game, unless you're totally mad about the sport.