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It's a well-known fact that women are better drivers than men (is it?- Ed) so we sent Lisa Collins off in a fast car to have a look at Grandslam's latest racing game.

I loved Mario Cart when it came out on (the vastly interior) SNES, so I was looking forward to playing Grandslam's latest track game - Bump 'N' Burn. At first glance, I was a little disappointed, the graphics seemed few and far between and the screen appeared to be very dark. However, after quite a few spins around the track, the game began to grow on me. In fact, it grew on me so much that after one lengthy bout of racing around the various tracks, I developed a bout of motion sickness and had to leave the office to get a breath of fresh air to revive myself.

PULL UP TO THE BUMPER
Bump 'N' Burn is set in Toonai land and once a decade all the drivers try to pit their wits and skill against the current champion - Count Chaos who would stoop to any lengths to stop you winning. To help you beat the Count, you can choose one of eight characters and cars. It's all fair and above board, no car is better than any other and none of the characters have any extra powers over the others. For example, the eskimo character doesn't fare any better in, say, the Ice world than the desperate Dan character. But, fear not, you can soup up your car throughout the race by picking up coins and going to the shop to buy extra bits and pieces to give you that extra edge over the other competitors.

THE BLUE AND THE RED CAR…
The championship is set over seven worlds which range from the Haunted Forest through to Future World. You can race through these zones, in whatever order you want, until you earn enough points to take on the evil Crusher. There's a handy map at the bottom of the screen to let you know what position you are in. However, you rarely get the chance to look away from the screen to check it because everything moves so quickly in this game.

However, Bump 'N' Burn is more than just endless racing around various tracks hoping to get there first. There are numerous obstacles along the way that you must dodge, such as enormous penguins, threatening igloos, scary ghosts, menacing candy sticks, pot holes and such like. Also, at any moment, flying saucers or enormous birds might try to lift you off info oblivion. To combat these you have some dirty tricks up your sleeve. For a start, if you hit the right signpost on the side of a track you can send all the other cars behind you off in the wrong direction. Also, by collecting the stars that are littered around not only can you make yourself invincible or invisible, you can notch up some nasty surprises for your opponents.

These dastardly tricks probably give the most satisfaction in two player mode. Watch with glee as your opponent veers off the track straight into the bushes when you drop a smoke screen behind you. Smirk smugly as he skids all over the oil slick you left behind for him - as you race off into the lead. Smile sympathetically as he crashes head-first info the iron wall that you considerately left behind.
The tricks all add to the fun of the game. But had you better be careful because the other opponents can do the same to you. I found the smoke screens the most annoying as you never knew when they were going to strike, so keeping on the track was very difficult.

HAD A RACE
In all, Bump 'N' Burn is a fun but tricky game. You have to keep your wits around you at all times to make sure you dodge the pits of debris or igloos. That always seem to be lying on the track. There are a few minor niggles though. Some of the worlds appear to have been given more detail than others. Whereas the Future Word has lots of nice graphics and various space-like items strewn around the level, the Haunted Forest just seems to have the odd lump of wood strewn about. Also, there was a difference of opinion in the office concerning the cornering. Some felt that handling was just a bit too sticky for the game's own good.
Minor niggles aside, Bump 'N' Burn is a fun if not entirely original racing game. It brings a new and humorous slant to an old genre and ultimately succeeds on gameplay too.