Sony PlayStation, £34.99
PORSCHE is a name synonymous with motor racing and everything good about cars, so it's no wonder that this little offering from Sony is all about racing. As recently as last year, Porsche launched a new road racer called the Boxer and it's this little speedster that takes centre stage in Porsche Challenge. In fact it is the star of the whole show as there are no other makes of car available. Close consultation with the German car manufacturer enabled the programmers to recreate authentically its speed, power and control.
There are few frills attached to the game: basically you just start them up and off you go. You have the usual types of gameplay like Arcade and Simulation. Arcade is self explanatory, while in Simulation you have the added bonus of having to watch out for shortcuts and barriers etc. But for the true racing driver in you there is the Interactive option. Here the track distance and layout changes constantly so you never quite know what lies around the next corner.
One nice feature is a handicapping system called Catch Up. When this is enabled, the trailing driver will be given a speed boost to bring him/her back into contention. Apart from that there is little else except a quality racing sim, one that the more experienced player will, no doubt, appreciate.
There are 24 various locations to race at and, while there isn't a huge selection, when it comes down to choosing camera angles the three that are included are more than adequate. In making the game it is obvious that the designers decided to exclude all but the necessary options and instead concentrate their efforts on producing a quality racing sim with top notch graphics.
To that end they have certainly succeeded.
Graphics: 91%, Sound: 90%, Gameplay: 88%