The blue chevrons can be driven over for an acceleration boost

Compo, Clegg, Foggy and the bloke who does the mechanical stuff in Last of the Summer Wine take a ship from Wipeout into their lock-up. Numerous adjustments later, it emerges dressed as a roller skate. What high jinks!
Steve Bradley

Psygnosis return to the PlayStation racing fray, a scene they once dominated. Think Wipeout 2097. Think Destruction Derby 2. Think F1 ’97. Fine games, one and all.

But the grid has gotten busy of late. If Codemasters' superlative TOCA games and the excellent Colin McRae Rally have stolen Psygnosis’ thunder, then Gran Turismo has nicked it, stripped it down and flogged it for huge profit. Consider also F1 ’98, which, given Psygnosis' pedigree, was an abomination.

But anyway, roller skates. This is Rollcage. It looks a bit like Wipeout, but there’s none of your floaty nonsense. These skates have wheels. Big wheels. So big in fact, when the thing flips over (and it frequently does), you just keep on rolling down the road.

Rollcage is pedal-to-the-metal fast. So fast, that when you first pick the game up, you’ll be in all sorts of trouble, bouncing off of walls, driving along tunnel ceilings, spinning wildly and generally wondering what the hell’s going on.

Developed by Warwick codeshop Attention To Detail, Rollcage marks a return to form for the once-great Liverpool publisher, whose recent chequered history has lead to owners Sony taking a firm grip of the reins. But with Wipeout 3 in production, and sequels to Destruction Derby, F1 (must do better!) and even Rollcage mooted, they could turn their fortunes around in the next 12 months.

Rollcage apes the stylistic imagery of Wipeout (the power-up icons are nigh-on identical) and the innovative soundtrack - including two tracks by Fatboy Slim – with its fat beats and hectic feel is basically a 1999 version of Wipeout 2097.