It's Tranz Am for the '90s. Or something.

First there was Vigilante. Actually, first there was Interstate '76, but you get the idea.
Martin Kitts

Anyone remember this? Back in the '70s, a group of vigilantes (possibly even numbering eight) decided the best way to prove which of them was the best was to drive around a desert in their souped-up muscle cars and kill each other with a variety of large, offensive weapons.

They piled into hot-rodded buses, camper vans, jeeps, trucks (lorries. Tch) and Cadillacs. They even invited a genuine Space Alien to join in the fun.

There could be only one victor.

Well, that's a lot more believable than the real plot. What you have here is Twisted Metal with a '70s theme and some nifty, sharp graphics. All you have to do is drive your mean machine around the level, shoot the heck out of everything that moves and complete a simple mission objective - usually, prevent a specific item from being blown up in the mayhem.

Smashing into crates equips your vehicle with an improved weapon, such as some rockets or a few mines. The standard machine-gun you get is utterly useless, so grabbing the power-ups is the only way to win. The computer drivers are extremely aggressive, and go straight for the extra guns. You'll have to be quick to snatch a decent weapon.

Once everyone's tooled up, they all come looking for you, trying either to destroy you or the thing you're trying to protect. Only now do you regret those bantering jests about their flares.