In fact, N64 owners should probably look away now as in some respects it's even better than Mario Kart. The tracks are stunning; all 12 of the basic ones in the one and two-player modes are beautifully constructed, with pirate boats, fairground rides and pits of bubbling lava providing some lush eye candy, and they're all loaded with sneaky short cuts too. You really do have to check you're playing on a PlayStation - it's all done without a hint of slowdown or pop-up, even with all the other karts on the same screen.

It's the four player mode which will take all the plaudits though, and rightly so. There's quite simply no better four-player game on the PlayStation, and while the tracks aren't as detailed (in fact, many of them are different altogether), it all rips along at such a frantic pace that you hardly notice anyway. And while we're here, it makes V-Rally 2's multiplayer effort look embarrassing. There really is no better excuse to buy a Multi-Tap and a few spare controllers for your mates. From the first game of the day on your PlayStation to the post-pub entertainment, it's absolutely superb.

It's getting a bit desperate when the only annoyance you'll be able to find is that there's no running total kept to see how well you're doing against everybody else. There's nothing better than a 'first to 10' at Mario Stadium, but here you'll have to keep it in your head. Petty, really. Sorry.

What with some of the funniest weapons we've seen in ages (one pumps up everybody else's tyres until they burst), Speed Freaks has a wicked sense of humour - the characters cackle when they overtake and snigger when they send a missile up an opponent's bumper. We just can't praise Speed Freaks highly enough. It may be a Mario-clone, but in a PlayStation world of sequels and franchises, it's nothing short of a gale of fresh air. Racing has never been so much fun.