Nintendo 64, £59.99
The future used to be a boring place. That was until the government provided Extreme-G races to stimulate the minds and increase the competitive spirit of the people of the world.
Instead of just controlling virtual bikes from the comfort of their own homes enthusiasts could now compete in the real world on real bikes.
But these "real bikes" are a little fancier than the one Michael Doohan used to become 500cc world champion. They have to be because the 12 tracks available are also out of this world. They loop, corkscrew, coil and roller-coaster like crazy. There are no standard figure of eight or oval tracks in sight.
These bikes can go. As you hurtle helter-skelter around the tracks at break-neck speeds you'll need lightning reflexes and a strong stomach to keep up with the pace.
If that isn't enough to keep you busy, your bike can pick up weapons on the track, although there is an option to turn these off if you just want pure racing. These power-ups range from standard invulnerability, missiles, etc to wally warps (makes the bike in front warp behind you) and static pulses which reverses opponents' controls and renders their weapons useless.
Extreme G has various modes of gameplay including Extreme Contest where there are three levels of tournament play: Atomic Class, Critical Mass and Meltdown.
For single player there is also practice, time trial and shoot 'em up modes. In multi-player mode up to 16 players can play in a cup challenge while the head-to-head option allows four players to compete simultaneously. But because each player only sees one quarter of the screen the action can become a little cramped. There are also battle arena and capture the flag modes for two to four players. Extreme-G is Nintendo 64's answer to Wipeout. And while it isn't as ground-breaking a game, it is plenty of fun and the multi-player modes gives it endless replay value.
Extreme-G also supports the Rumble Pak, so you can "feel" the action. Not to everybody's taste but well worth considering.
Graphics: 89%, Sound: 87%, Gameplay: 88%