I'm all for fancy graphics, but not at the expense of gameplay.
Don't worry, Ubi Soft are promising plenty of play with this one, divided into arcade and simulation modes. Arcade mode allows you to experience the thrills of racing without having to tinker with spoiler settings and the like. Thrash it out in a single race and try to make those increasingly tricky checkpoints, or try the Grand Prix, Championship and Time Attack modes. Simulation mode pits you against the best drivers in a bid to be world number one. Don't expect it to be easy - unless you set the skill level to amateur, of course.

What about multiplayer?
The two-player challenge mode allows you to race your mates, as well as up to seven computer opponents. It would have been nice to see some four-player action in there though, even at the expense of a bit of visual polish.

Just how tough is the computer opposition?
Each computer driver is completely independent of the others - they make their own decisions depending on the situation and, just like real drivers, they can make subtle errors or really big mistakes.

Nice! Anything else?
There'll be support for a steering wheel, of course, and vibration will come courtesy of the Dreamcast's 'Puru Puru' pack. Hmm... what else? Ah yes! There's a really cool retro mode where you travel back to 1950, the year of the first ever Grand Prix. You get to race a selection of cars from that era on a suitably bumpy track. Vroom!

* Bask in its graphical splendour - "twit-twoo" indeed
* It's got all the proper tracks, not just Monaco
* Retro mode should be a right crack
* The names are all wrong. At least you can change them though
* Why only two players? We want four! Now!