Shouldn't it be Lotus 3: The Final spin-off?

Lotus 3: The Ultimate Challenge logo

GREMLIN * £25.99 * 1/2 meg * Joystick/keyboard * Out now

In the beginning there was Outrun, and it was feeble. And Magnetic Fields did look at the Amiga and think, "This computer needs a decent driving game," and so they set about creating one. First they created Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge. It was a 3D behind-the-car viewpoint game, which featured a simultaneous split-screen two-player mode which was great fun to play.

It also had lots of options, even down to selecting your in-car music from CD player screen. Magnetic Fields looked down at Lotus, and saw that it was good.

Then they created the sequel, and lo! It featured a full-screen one-player mode, a checkpoint race system instead of the previous circuits, a second type of Lotus car to drive, and even more in-car CD music. They created it in the image of the first game, and Magnetic Fields looked down at Lotus 2, and saw that it was quite good too.

Finally (we hope), in the year of our lord 1992, Magnetic Fields looked down on the world and thought, "Hang on, we could make a packed doing yet another sequel." Thus was born Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge. And it was OK too.

So what does this have that the previous two didn't? Well, it combines the best aspects of both the prequels to produce what is actually quite a playable driving game. You can decide whether you want to hurtle around either checkpoint-type races or circuits with a varying number of laps, and also whether you want to race against the clock or against the other computer-controlled cars.

There's also the addition of a track designer. You can set the perimeters for a track in the form of percentages, and the things you can twiddle around with include the amount of hills and curves, and the race distance. You can design loads of your own courses, and they can be either circuits or checkpoint jobs.

The game is very well presented, with some stylish graphics and absolutely excellent music. The in-car CD now offers, among others, a dancey, ravey, hardcore-you-know-the-score, midnight beatbox ecstasy job, a reasonably heavy rock affair, and the Zool music(?), the last of which is utterly groovy.

You'll find everyone around you starts humming the tune when this comes on (at least they did here in the office). You can choose the control system you want for your car, although I found the default Fire-button acceleration setup easiest to cope with.

Select whether you want to drive a Lotus Esprit, an Elan SE, or an M200, each of which are shown on a trendy rotating fact screen, which also shows weird little graphs of acceleration and so on.

You'll eventually get to the game bit. The starting light goes on, and you accelerate away. Then you've got to successfully negotiate your way through several tracks, which are different depending whether you chose easy, medium or hard difficulty settings. These stages vary between checkpoint races and circuit races, and can take place in a variety of conditions, including the old favourites, wind, fog and rain.

The graphics are pretty much the same as in the two previous games, and they move at a fairly zippy rate, although one amusing thing we noticed is that for some reason, on some tracks it can look like you're reversing the car along. Apart from that slightly strange quirk, the game looks fairly good, with colourful backdrops and sprites.

The car is quite responsive and easy to handle, and with a bit of practice you'll soon find yourself managing to stay on the road on those tough icy corners. One thing that Lotus games have never been is realistic. When you hit an obstacle or another car, you simply slow down by about 15 km/h. Still, if anything, this adds to the playability, as you don't find yourself out of the game just because of one slip-up.

This also produces some excellent two-player frolics as you fiercely battle to be the first to the finishing line.

While Lotus 3 isn't original and certainly isn't the best game in recent months, it's nevertheless a playable product with a fair bit of depth. There are lots of levels to go through, and the facility to design your own adds a great deal to the game. I think it's the best game in its field, because it manages to combine the best elements of the previous games and adds a few new ones too. Shell out for this and you won't be too disappointed.



Lotus 3: The Ultimate Challenge logo

The ultimate challenge? Or is it 'Just another driving game?' Crash-test dummy Andy Nuttall takes a spin in Gremlin's new supercar...

Unless you're new to the Amiga, or you;ve been asleep for the last couple of years, you will surely have heard of the Lotus Turbo Challenge games from Gremlin. The original Lotus was a fast-moving, adrenaline-pumping race game with a two-player option that made it second to none. When Lotus II appeared everyone adored it because it was even faster and offered a range of track styles.

Now Gremlin have come up with the third and final game of the series, appropriately titled Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge. Lotus II was a huge improvement over the original, so what has Lotus III to offer the Amiga racer?

Overdrive
To start with, there's the addition of a new car. In Lotus I you drove an Esprit, while in II you could choose between an Esprit and Elan, depending on the track. In Lotus III, though, you can not only pick one of those but also a new Lotus - the M200. Although the cars have similar specifications, they each have different characteristics which make driving them just that bit different.

Then there's the addition of five new scenarios to choose from, to make a total of 13. Each of these offers not only different scenery, but a totally different 'feel'. On the Snow level for instance, the car will slip and skid, making it difficult to control; while on the Fog level you will only be able to see the area just in front of your car (except for the tail lights of the cars in front, of course).

The main addition, though, is the Road Environment Construction System (RECS). It's very true to its name in that it can only alter the road environment, and not create specific tracks, so people who were hoping for a Scalextric-type course designer may be a little disappointed.

Top gear
RECS enables you to alter all aspects of the race ahead - bends, hills, obstacles, weather - you name it, RECS can do it. You can also set the difficulty level for a course, between 1 and 99. This not only make this the course itself more difficult, but also increases the intelligence and aggressiveness of the other drivers in the race. Set it to 99 only if you were a Kamikaze pilot in a previous life.

When you design a course, it is assigned a string of letter, each of which corresponds to a particular parameter in the track design. The idea behind this is that you can design a track, then go around to your mate's house and use the given code to play the same track there. It works, too. If you've got a relatively short name, or a favourite football team, you can type this in and have your own personal track, which sometimes works really well, and adds a bit of fun to the proceedings.

RECS also enables you to define and store up to nine separate tracks in a list, so that you can play them all in a sort of championship challenge. This is an essential addition to the list of features, because playing each track you've created separately would soon become tiresome.

Due to space limitations, though, the inclusion of this feature has meant that the Lotus II option of linking two Amigas together has been left out. The general consensus of opinion about the Amiga Format office seems to be that the linker was a vital part of Lotus II's popularity, and the fact that it's not in the new version means that unfortunately it loses a lot of brownie points.


If you own Lotus II I'd think twice about buying this version

So aside from the course designer, how does it actually play? Well, in one-player mode, the game has a fairly similar feel to Lotus II - the same 'wind in your hair' feeling as you whiz around each circuit. There is a choice of music or sound effects as you play, but the available tunes aren't that great so you're better off sticking to the sound effects.

Ask any Lotus I or II player what made the games the classics they are today, and most will, like the Amiga Format team, say the 'two-player mode'. This may not be the case with Lotus III though.

Food and drink
The graphics are quite jerky, which can be off-putting if you're used to the earlier games. The speed still seems to be there, but the frame rate (the rate at which the screen updates) is vastly reduced, giving the impression that you're going much slower than you actually are.

This may be due to the addition of new objects, the intelligence of the drivers or the calculations necessary for RECS, but either way the thrill and feeling of speed is lost. It's still very playable, but it could (and should) have been so much better.

The new-found intelligence of your opponents makes a difference to the gameplay, but they still manage to drive through all the obstacles unaffected while you screech to a halt if you so much as clip a rock or bollard in the road. This always struck me as unfair in the first two games, but you learn to live with it I suppose.

Chris Kelly
In may ways, Lotus III is a game which borrows the parts form its two predecessors and compacts them into one game. For example, in Lotus I it was necessary to refuel quite often on your way around the course, while in the sequel there was no fuel, and the concentration was all on the game itself. Lotus II, of course, had several tracks to race upon, a fact which made the game a lot better in many people's eyes, so it was included in Lotus III.

This idea of using the best features breaks down a little, however, when you consider that the link-up feature has been left out, and the two-player option is slow in comparison with the previous two games.

OK, the bottom line. If you own Lotus II, I would definitely think twice before parting with your dosh. 25 quid's a lot of money, especially when all you're really getting is a course designer and some extra tracks. They are just too similar to warrant buying both.

In its own right, though, Lotus III is a pretty good game with loads of options. For a single player who hasn't got a racing game, then I'd recommend it without question, if only because of RECS. For someone who is looking to race with their mates, though, I would have to rate Lotus II more highly, simply because it's faster and as the feature on multiplayer games (Page 66) says, you can't beat being hooked-up.


ROAD ENVIRONMENT CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
The new addition to the range of option in Lotus is RECS, which enables you to alter tracks as you wish. Here's what it's all about...
Lotus 3: The Ultimate Challenge: RECS
  1. Gives you a choice between a racing circuit, trying to beat other players, and a rally-type track split into stages where you race against the clock.
  2. RECS gives each variable a letter, forming a code.
  3. Adjust the mount of scenery on the track.
  4. Alters the scatter of the scenery and obstacles.
  5. Defines the amount of obstacles in your way.
  6. The most exciting part of RECS, which enables you to choose between the 13 tracks available in Lotus III. The track currently selected is Night.
  7. Changes the gradient of the hills defined above.
  8. Sets the length of track. You must refuel on longer tracks.
  9. Alters the sharpness of the bends in the course.
  10. Defines the number of bends in your track.

WHAT CAR?

Lotus Esprit Turbo SE
The original, and some would say the best. It's certainly the fastest, anyway, but it doesn't accelerate quite as quickly as the Elan. It performs best on tracks which have hardly any hills and obstacles on them, and in slippery conditions such as mud and snow.

Lotus Elan SE
This car has loads of acceleration, so you can almost feel the G-force as you zoom down those steep hills. In the game, it's definitely at its best on tracks which have lots of bends, loads of obstacles, and lots of grip on the road. Sadly, in real life, the Elan is no more - it's ceased production.

Lotus M200
The newie - a big, bright green beast of a car, which is the latest in the range of Lotus cars. Probably superb to drive in real life but in this game it's not as exciting as the other two. More of an all-rounder, really - one which is good in icy or muddy conditions, and equally good on roads.

THOSE TRACK TYPES IN ALL THEIR GLORY

MARSH
Great to play, but very difficult. Oil and water on the track make the going tough, so most of the time you end up skidding off the road.

FUTURE
Quite exhilarating, but doesn't look as good as the others. Lasers are your main obstacle, and a 'turbo zone' is supplied with each track.

NIGHT
Headlights on main beam as you zoom around a pitch-black track, with a Manhattan Skyline (cue a song) in the background. The best track.

LAKES
Jump across rivers and dodge oil slicks on this course, which is especially good when it's twisty and hilly - feels like you're in the Lake District!

MOUNTAINS
A rock wall to the right and a vast open space to the left as you race around a narrow mountain course. Very precarious and very difficult.

SNOW
Lots of obstacles on this one, including snow drifts and ice patches. Steering is very light, so the car slips and slides to good effect. Great snow effect.

ROADWORKS
The M25 simulator. Great feeling of speed as your car whizzes past the bollards and roadsigns. Great fun, especially if you have loads of hills.

STORM
Excellent rain effect, with flashing lightning and good thunder samples. Huge puddles in the road are common, they'll slow you to a standstill.

DESERT
Again not an easy surface to race on, with a similar feel to the Snow course. Stick to the middle of the road, as sand tends to collect at the edges.

FOG
Similar feel to the Night track, in that you can only see a few feet in front of the car. Can get frantic from time to time, especially with lots of bends.

CITY
Set on a wide motorway, you can cross over to the other lane to get around the sharper bends, but you must watch out for on-coming traffic!

WINDY
Racing around the plain of America, your main adversary is tumbleweed which blows in abundance from left to right across the track.

COUNTRY
Windy roads, logs, rocks and fords in the road - this is exactly like a real country lane, except you never get stuck behind a tractor.

   

Lotus 3: The Ultimate Challenge logo Amiga Joker Hit

Core Designs Jaguar war fraglos ein Superbolide, und auch die neuen Vektor-Öfen von Psygnosis sind nicht zu verachten - aber der Klassiker unter den Amiga-Flitzers ist ganz klar Gremlins Lotus! Start frei zur dritten und entscheidenden Runde...

Zwei Vorgänger, zwei Hits - da sind die Erwartungen natürlich hoch gesteckt. Kann Lotus 3 seinem Namen gerecht werden, indem es tatsächlich die ultimative Herausforderung im digitalen Rennsport darstellt? Reicht der Oktangehalt im Blut der Programmierer, um wirklich nochmal einen müden Abklatsch vergangener Erfolge zu tun?

Die Sorgen waren überflüssig, alle Spekulationen müßig: Teil drei der Lotus-Saga ist eine perfekte Kombination aus den besten Spielelementen der Vorgänger, gewürzt mit einem spektakulären Intro, fünf brandneuen Szenarien, einem zusätzlichen Auto und dem außergewöhnlichsten Kurs-Designer, den wir je gesehen haben!

Aber vor die Zieldurchfahrt haben die Streckenposten bekanntlich die Startflagge gesetzt, also beginnen wir erstmal ganz bescheiden mit den grundsätzlichen (Einstell-) Möglichkeiten und Optionen im Hauptmenü. Dort dürfen die ein oder zwei Spieler ihren Namen eingeben, zwischen manueller und automatischer Schaltung wählen und sich dazu äußern, ob sie lieber per Stick, mit dem Feuerknopf oder der Tastatur (Spieler zwei) Gas geben.

Außerdem will das Programm wissen, ob die Fahrer gegen ein Zeitlimit à la "Lotus 2" rasen wollen, oder ob sie eher die "Lotus 1"-Methode bevorzugen, bei der man unter die ersten Zehn kommen muß, um sich für die nächste Strecke zu qualifizieren.

Bei den fünf anwählbaren Szenarien entspricht das dann dem "Championship Style" (Plazierung) bzw. dem "Arcade Style" (Zeitlimit), dazu gibt es den "Circuit"-Modus (ein Rundkurs), den "Run"-Modus (eine lange Strecke) und schließlich noch eine (namenlose) Mischung aus allen aufgezählten Elementen. Tja, wer die Wahl hat, hat die Qual...

Die Qual der Wahl hat man als Pilot auch bei den Boliden, denn neben dem ursprünglichen Lotus Esprit Turbo stehen jetzt ein Lotus Elan sowie ein M 200 für den Ausflug bereit. Anschließend folgt noch der obligate CD-Player, wo man sich unter sechs hervorragenden Musikstücken seine Soundbegleitung herauspicken darf.

Auch wenn der Gasfuß schon juckt, wir können unmöglich losfahren, ohne zuvor über die wirklich bahnbrechende Neuerung von Lotus 3 gesprochen zu haben - das "Racing Environment Construction System", kurz RECS genannt.

Dieses ausgetüftelte System kann nämlich weit mehr als ein herkömmlicher Streckenbaukasten, bei dem die einzelnen Kurven, Büsche etc. von Hand aneinander gereiht weden müssen. Stattdessen arbeitet RECS mit einem elfstelligen Code, wobei eine Ziffer beispielsweise für den Kurvenanteil in Prozenten steht, eine andere für die Kurslänge und so weiter und so fort.

Man braucht also nur die entsprechende Codeziffer einzugeben, und schon ist die persönliche Hausstrecke fix und fertig. Sollte sich dann herausstellen, daß es doch zu viele/weniger Hügel sind, oder die Computergegner viel zu schnell/langsam fahren, genügt die änderung von ein, zwei Ziffern, um den Kurs zu optimieren.

Daher war hier auch eine Speichermöglichkeit für die selbstgestrickten Asphaltpisten überflüssig, sie sind ja alle schon vorhanden und können jederzeit mit dem passenden Code aufgerufen werden. So, nun ist es aber wirklich soweit: Gentlemen, start your Engines!

Wie bei "Lotus 2" wird im Solo-Modus der volle PAL-Screen ausgenutzt, während man zu zweit über einen Splitscreen donnert. Die 3D-Grafik ist von gewohnter Güte, sprich, beim Durchfahren von Pfützen spritzt das Wasser hoch, im Nebel sind die anderen Fahrzeuge nur schemenhaft zu erkennen, und der Zoom-Effekt ist so sensationell wie eh und je.

Insgesamt ist die Angelegenheit vielleicht sogar einen Tick schneller geworden, die Konkurrenz ist jetzt schön bunt, und auf alle Fälle wird in den neuen Szenarien mehr Abwechslung geboten.

Die 64 vorhandenen Strecken verteilen sich nun nämlich nicht mehr auf acht, sondern auf dreizehn unterschiedliche Renn-Welten. Außer Schnee, Wald, Wüste, Autobahn, Nebel, Nacht, Sumpf und Sturm gibt es jetzt auch schaurig heulenden "Wind", verkehrsbehindernde "Bauarbeiten", schlüpfrigen "Matsch", ein "Gebirge" mit guter Fernsicht und last but not least die "Zukunft", wo es natürlich durch lauter futuristische Landschaften geht.

Die Steuerung ist einmal mehr über alle Zweifel erhaben, so wie das gesamte Gameplay nach wie vor überzeugen kann. Wenn nun jemand behauptet, das Spielprinzip wäre dank der vorangegangenen Lotus-Modelle und des grundsätzlich ähnlichen "Jaguar XJ 220" schon ausgelutscht, dann hat er nicht recht - Lotus 3 ist mehr als eine schlichte Zusammenfassung des bisher Dagewesenen. Nein, durch die vielen neuen Spielelemente und den genialen Kursdesigner ist es schlicht und ergreifend der Höhepunkt eines Genres!

Sicher, das eine oder andere Feature mag einem bekannt vorkommen, aber was macht das schon, wenn dem Hochgeschwindigkeits-Automobilisten dafür Fahrspaß pur geboten wird? Wer da mäkelt, der muß sich auch bei jedem neuen Rollenspiel darüber aufregen, daß schon wieder Monster auftauchen... (C. Borgmeier)



Lotus 3: The Ultimate Challenge logo

Gremlin adopt the lotus position one more time. But have they stretched it too far?

When university student Colin Chapman built the first Lotus in 1947, using a rickety 1937 Austin, I wonder if he could have foreseen his future sports cars appearing on the Amiga. A stirring thought perhaps, but just how good is the new generation Lotus from Gremlin?

Lotus III, like its predecessors, presents the action from a second-person 3D perspective. Getting started is based around an easy-to-use menu with which Lotus I and II fans will also be familiar. With a choice of one or two players, and the four-player link option (two machines must be connected) it's definitely a multi-player game, and on the surface it does look to offer all the scope and playability of its forebears.

A first spin also reveals a familiar control system. It follows the straightforward Lotus formula, allowing manual or automatic gears, with fire button or joystick-operated acceleration.

As far as game structure is concerned you must choose whether to race against time or race for position against other cars. Next choose your difficulty setting, from the three provided.

It's then time to get stuck into the track editor, to plan a course of your own. Here you can decide the overall level of difficulty, and the degree of curves, hills, steepness or obstacles on your course. All are measured as a percentage. Simply select the feature (course detail, for instance), then decrease or increase the percentage using the joystick. Now go to the icons at the bottom of the course editor screen. These enable you to select the course type, including all the styles form Lotus II plus several new ones, including, windy, future world and mountain tracks.

Lotus III brings you vehicle variety too, with a choice of the new M200, the Esprit Turbo SE or the Elan SE. After choosing a car, select an audio track from the CD screen. There are six different tacky tunes, but to be honest you're better off sticking to sound effects.

So how does Lotus III handle - does it pass the AMIGA POWER speed test? As a fan of Lotus I, I feel that something is definitely missing. Lotus III just doesn't have the sheer hellbound speed of its parent game. It's even slower than Lotus II - there's no longer that feeling of being on the edge, so perfectly captured by Lotus I.


It just isn't as smooth as Lotus I

Controlability just isn't as smooth as in the first Lotus game. It doesn't feel or handle as smoothly, and its stop-start tendencies can be more than just frustrating, especially on the two-player game where things get distinctly jerky.

In a world of ever-increasing standards, it's not surprising that someone else did take the Lotus I formula one step further. Crazy Cars creams Lotus for sheer speed, handling thrills and excitement. In fact after the bellowing of Crazy Cars 3's throaty engine, Lotus II not only sounds but feels like a vacuum cleaner. As you accelerate into a race, this sluggishness soon becomes apparent. The other cars are clearly not there to race you, but get in your way. When you attempt to overtake, they block your path.

Your car responds by decelerating, allowing your opponents to accelerate away while others overtake you. Your car must now go through all the gears again to regain race pace - this is frustrating when you've worked your way up into the top five positions. In Lotus I your car only slows down if you actually crash.

CRASH ON DELIVERY
Unfortunately, Lotus III follows Lotus II along the no-crash philosophy. Although a crash meant it did take time to get going, again, I'd rather see the crashes and speed of Lotus I. So yes, at first glance Lotus III does look slick, it after 10 minutes play, slick is exactly what it isn't.

ON COURSE FOR INNOVATION
The course editor is an innovative addition to the Lotus package (in fact, it's the crucial one as far as this product is concerned - Gremlin wouldn't sell many copies if this was just a rewrite of Lotus II with a few extra tracks) and would see to make up for some of the flaws in the actual game.

That is, until you decide to put this new addition to the test. While it initially appears that the system gives access to an almost infinite number of tracks, it soon becomes apparent that it's impossible truly to tailor a track to your requirements. After all, mucking about with percentages isn't going to enable you to fine tune that bend, or add that steep hill at a certain position.


For climati effects, Lotus III is top of the class

The course designer doesn't so much give you an opportunity to design your own courses, as have a vague hand in the random creation of a course. I know Gremlin have pointed out that their 'RECS' thing is fast and easy, with the advantage of codes for each track, but what's the point in having a track designer if it doesn't allow you design?

As far as climatic effects and terrain variety are concerned, Lotus III is still top of the class. The graphically gorgeous animations of snow, thunder storms and fog conditions are still there from Lotus II, and Lotus groupies will recognise other elements such as the desert and motorway - its juggernauts and the chance to play chicken on the opposite carriageway are still there.

The roadworks section has been improved, but opponents smash through barriers, their speed unaffected, while you lose big chunks of speed if there's so much as one scrape on a 'keep right' sign.

There's no getting away from the gorgeous backgrounds and graphic brilliance, but then who would invest in a Lotus for the scenic route to anywhere? Not me that's for sure - speed is the name of my game, judging by the amount of tickets littering my passenger seat. I want thrills, I want sensation of speed. Lotus III fails to give you that. And if you can't go like a bat out of hell on your Amiga, where can you do it? It's no disgrace, but the time of Lotus has passed.



Lotus 3: The Ultimate Challenge logo CU Amiga Screen Star

Undergoing a complete refit and spray job, Lotus 3 is set to provide a new benchmark in Amiga racing games. Tony Dillon revs up for action.

THE LAST LAP
Gremlin have made themselves a lot of money out of their Lotus license. Both the previous incarnations stormed the software charts and collected awards by the bucket full. Interestingly, both games attracted a slightly different audience.

The original game's tracks were all looped, while Lotus 2 had you racing through different scenarios with only the clock to beat. You either like the first one and hated the second game, or vice versa, but rarely would anyone own up to liking the both.

To get around this problem, Gremlin have included both options in this latest game, hoping to please all of the people all of the time.

Lotus 3 probably has enough in it to keep everyone satisfied - even those who happen to have the previous games already. Not only does the game allow you to play circuits or stages, as part of a championship or against the clock, it also has RECS (Racing Environment Construction System), a novel way of generating new courses, but more on that later.

THEMATIC DRIVING
Both earlier titles had some 'theme' to them, some goal you had to reach to finish the game. In the first it was to complete all the tracks and come out on top. In the second it was just reach the end. This new package is a pure arcade racing game, dressed up in millions of fancy options. For a start, there are 64 tracks already built in, ranging over twelve different backdrops and scenarios!

Not only do you race through fog, rain, snow marsh and motorway sections a la Lotus 2, but there are also new scenarios such as mountain driving, a throwback to the early days of Accolade's Test Drive, where you speed your way along winding mountain tracks, with a cliff on one side and a steep drop on the other. There's also a futuristic racetrack, set over a chequered course which has you avoiding laser cannons and huge magnets which drag your car all over the shop (even though it is supposedly made of fibreglass!).

The racing sections are simply the best yet. There is no huge improvement over the previous two games, but any rough edges have been smoothed over. But then again, what did you expect? Shaun Southern has done this three times now. This time there are three cars to race in - the Lotus Esprit, The Elan and the futuristic M200, a turbo powered dream machine.

All can be raced with manual or automatic gears, and can be controlled with either the keyboard or joystick, using either forward or fire as the accelerator. No-one can say that Gremlin haven't tried to make this game as adaptable as possible.

CONSTRUCTOR
Talking of being adaptable, now we come to the bit you are all dying to find out about - RECS. In any other game that allows the player to build a track, the form has always been the same. Tracks are always pieced together Scalextric style, by adding one piece after another until the basic shape is there, then its the turn of the hills and roadside objects to be added. This is a time consuming process, and one that becomes very dull after a while. On top of that, the track usually has to saved to disk if you ever want to play it again!

RECS is a completely different way of doing things. Nine letters and two numbers are all you need to construct the course of your dreams, and between them there are literally millions of different courses available. The way it works is this. There are nine different statistics to each course, most of which are set as percentages. Aspects such as the amount of bends, hills and roadside objects are all set by clicking on a plus or minus button. On top of this, you can change the scenario between the dozen available and set an overall difficulty level which dictates the skills of the other drivers, fuel consumption, road handling etc.

Once you have set everything to your liking, you can make a note of the corresponding codeword and come back to play the same track time and time again. A fun aspect of this system is that you can enter names instead of codes such as TONYDILLON20. Beat that if you can!

THE BEST
What can I say? It is just the best racing game yet seen on the Amiga. It is well designed, well presented and plays perfectly. The only criticism I can level at the game is an over-riding sense of deja vu when playing it. The 'been there, done that' sensation is hard to ignore as most of the elements have been seen in the previous two games. If I already owned a copy of either title, I'd be slightly wary of splashing out on what is essentially more of the same. But then that is your decision.

It certainly stomps all over such recent offerings such as Titus' Crazy Cars 3 and Core's Jaguar racer. Overall, Lotus 3 is streets ahead of the competition and deserves a place in anyone's collection.