Grandma, what big teeth you have! Oh, it’s a T-Rex. Gulp!

Beetle Adventure Racing is not another blockbuster movie licence. And the beetle in question is not of the insect variety…
Andy Ashwin

So is it a magical mystery tour in yellow submarines?
Sadly not. The beetles in question are of the Volkswagen variety - the cute little car that looks like a jelly mould and is extremely popular with surfers and hippies.

Sweet! I love that car, man!
Hey, we all do. Herbie Goes Bananas is one of the finest movies of all time. Playing Beetle Adventure Racing is in fact rather similar to the Herbie movies, with crazy jumps aplenty.

Why the ‘adventure’ in the title? Surely Beetle Racing would have sufficed?
Not really. There is a definite element of adventure in Beetle Adventure Racing. The tracks are massive with plenty of secret routes and power-ups, similar in many ways to Rush 2: Extreme Racing. As well as saving time, some routes are adorned with beautiful animated scenery and ridiculous jumps.

Like?
The Inferno Isle track is clearly ‘influenced’ by Jurassic Park – there are the big gates with flaming torches either side, sparking electric fences and the occasional T-Rex. In fact, the Jurassic Park atmosphere is captured more effectively here than in any of the officially licensed games. There are six single-player maps in all.

But are they pleasing to the eye?
You’ll be ripping your N64 apart, convinced that someone has sneakily planted a RAM expansion inside. Beetle Adventure Racing looks absolutely gorgeous, while still managing to move along at a cracking pace, which is no surprise as the game’s co-developers, Paradigm, are better known for the sumptuous Pilotwings 64.