It's time for yet another Need For Speed game, this time subtitled Gran Turismo. No, sorry, Road Challenge
Steve Owen

If you thought that Electronic Arts churned out their FIFA games, spare a thought for the Need for Speed franchise. It's been just six months since Hot Pursuit and now yet another minor revision has been released, causing confusion in the office as we try to figure out if we've reviewed this already.

We haven't, it turns out, although it took some hunting to figure out what's changed between editions. EA seem to have built a business on 'borrowing' other people's ideas, tidying them up, adding a rock soundtrack and calling it their own. Road Challenge is no different.

Call it Gran Turismo for the PC, because this year's - no, scrub that, this season's - Need for Speed features a garage in which you can park the fancy real-life cars that have been licensed. Your initially limited funds are enough to purchase a lowly BMW Z3 for your first, easy races, before winnings are spent upgrading or buying faster vehicles, including the McLaren F1. Competition success unlocks the higher classes with the greater rewards and the tougher opponents. All very GT so far. And it goes on. There are some races where you can risk your car head-to-head in an attempt to win your opponent's vehicle, straight out of the Gran Turismo instruction manual.

There's an interesting element left from the last game though, involving the cops. You can either hope to make it around a track pursued by the fuzz (complete with their trademark spike strips, road blocks, Police Camera Action-style chasing chopper, and lunatic driving), or become a peeler yourself and attempt to run some other dangerous driving criminals off the road. All thoroughly enjoyable.