Souped-up engine

V-Rally 2 Sony PlayStation £44.99 Infogrames (0161-827 8000) The four-letter word that best describes V-Rally Championship Edition 2 is "more", but "better" fits, too, and some might even stretch to "brilliant". Two years ago, the original was a huge hit, selling 2.5m copies. The new version is faster, has much better graphics, and, most important of all, it's easier to play.

V-Rally was unforgiving: touch a kerb and you probably turned the car over. It's still pretty easy to fly end over end in V-R2 - not the best approach with a Nissan Micra - but you have to hit something chunky. The smoother graphics mean there aren't as many chunky things around, and there is very little of the clipping that was so prominent in the first version. Nor does the landscape seem to pop up around you all the time.

And while V-Rally gave a great impression of speed, V-R2 could be the fastest driving game on a PlayStation: the in-car view is almost frightening, and I found myself ducking when running into trees. The realism is increased by the sound effects and sensible use of vibration from the Dual Shock controller. You can also slide the car round corners, more like Colin McRae Rally.

More? Oh, 20 official cars from the World Rally Championship, 92 tracks across 12 countries (plus a track editor so you can create your own), and six modes including the first PlayStation four-player split-screen gaming. There is also a choice of female drivers, and you get to jump about on a podium after winning races.

A lot of people must have found the original V-Rally too difficult and they either stuck to time trials or gave up: arcade racing was too much of a lottery. V-R2 is a lot less frustrating. It's not what less dedicated gamers would call easy, but it presents a very fair challenge.