The game features eight circuits, four of which can be raced from the off. The first is relatively easy to negotiate, then they get steadily trickier due to their increasingly twisty-turny nature. By far the most memorable circuit is the 'Mega Mall', which sees you whoosh down a helter skelter-style descent in concentric circles. This is the first analogue-compatible WipEout game (the first two came out before Sony's analogue pad) and steering the ship is much better for it. You can gently nudge and nurse the crates around bends and there's that satisfactory rumbling feel to boot.

The game's designers have set great store in the power-ups this time around, and the strategic use of boosters is all-important. Some of the weapons from 2097 have been retained, while some new ones have been introduced. The best is probably the Multi Missile which fires three projectiles and can take out the same number of ships in one fell swoop.

But Wip3out's biggest attraction is undoubtedly the addition of a two-player, split-screen option. Absent in the first two (you could link 2097, which was sensational if you had the equipment), this should bring the game a whole new set of admirers. Despite the split-screen, there's little discernible slowdown and the visual detail remains spot-on. Psygnosis used Sony's Performance Analyzer, which enabled them to squeeze every last drop out of the PlayStation, and the result is virtually no pop-up and the crispest visuals imaginable.

Basically, it's more of the same but better in every aspect, and the two-player game ensures Wip3out is as good a racer as you'll see this year.