Activision/John Mullins
£9.99 cass

Great in the arcades, but tricky to convert, this is Activision's racing entry into the Christmas stakes. No posey Ferrari F-40's or Porsche 959's here though, just you in your souped up road buggy against eleven equally mean drivers. No standard race tracks either, but bone-jarring dips and crests full of bends and obstacles.

Start by choosing to be one of twelve drivers racing on one of five courses with five stages on offer. Choice made you're whisked to your vehicle and the hot seat. The eleven other drivers bunch around you on the grid, the green light flashes… and the race is on. The aim is simple, finish in 3rd place or better, and you will be taken onto the next stage (fall and it's game over). At around 150kph slam the car into high gear and push it to the limits (around 244kph). Avoid contact with other racers and roadside obstacles - they'll cause your car to spin off the road losing you valuable time.

Four laps must be completed to win a race. You tell your position in the pack by simply glancing up to top of screen where a representation of your character's face amidst the others I had great hopes for Power Drift. Despite the many arcade racing games around this Christmas it had a real chance. But while graphically the game is ok, all five of the courses look too similar. The car sprites are quite well defined, but one would have thought the programmer could have set the tyres spinning: it looks like the scenery is moving rather than the cars. While not wanting to be too negative about what in the arcade is a great game, I feel the Spectrum Power Drift lacks long term playability and Activision aren't onto a big hit.

MARK [79%]

Brrm, brrm, screech! Yeah, my favourite arcade machine of all time converted onto the Spectrum. The one we've all been waiting for. But is it any good? You bet your life it is. It's true that at first the game looks very much like WEC Le Mans (it was programmed by the same team), but the similarities soon end when you face a steep bank of logs to climb up in your buggy! it all moves so fast you don't even get time to moan about the use of colour; you just concentrate on skidding around corners and leaping over hills - great fun. Nobody believed Activision could reproduce the graphical excellence of the Sega arcade machine, but they've dome a really good lob with detailed buggys, smooth scrolling and stomach churning hills and curves. Sound is also brilliant with a good Dave Lowe tune (any relation to Chris?) and plenty of sound effects. Power Drift is another top quality arcade conversion. I hope I find this one in my Christmas stocking.
NICK [83%]

The Hit Squad
£3.99

Hold onto your hats (and stomachs), we're off to the races for a nerve-racking battle against the clock in that cream of modern engineering, a Formula One racing machine... no, hold on it's a sand buggy?!

Power Drift was Activision's Chrimble race offering back in Issue 71. Your vehicle isn't as flash as a Porsche 959, a lamborghine, a Ferrari F40 or one of the new half a million quid Jaguars (ah, shame!), but sand buggys are rugged and well nippy.

First choose a character from the 12 ugly drivers on offer, then prepare for the race of your life on five of the wildest courses around. There are 11 computer-controlled psychopaths waiting to ram you off the road, so don't imagine it's just the course that'll cause problems.

Completing the stage in at least third place is your main priority, as it ensures a position in the grid for the next race, but getting a bronze trophy isn't as easy as it sounds (the gold 'un is even tougher to grab).

Graphically the game's good, but the programmers could have animated the buggy's tyres - it looks silly speeding around with static wheels. Also the similarity between levels becomes tedious (poke me in the ribs when the race is finished).

Overall, Power Drift is a game worthy of purchase at budget price, but don't expect too much.

Activision
£9.99 cass/£14.99 disk
Reviewer: David Wilson

If you don't know anything about Power Drift you must have just returned from a three month holiday on Jupiter. I mean, it's been a big hit in the arcades, been emblazoned on our front cover, and we've even given you an exclusive level as a playable demo! (Hello, I've just returned from a three month holiday on Jupiter! Reader's voice) Erm, right!

Power Drift is a conversion of the Sega arcade hit of the same name. It's a rolling road racing game in which you race a sort of dune buggy against 12 other competitors on different courses, There are five main courses to choose from and then five stages to each course, so in effect you've got 20-odd different tracks! Oh, and it's been programmed by the people responsible for WEC Le Mans so you won't be surprised to hear that it's one slick and smooth-scrolling racing game.

You start by choosing your driver from the selection of dubious looking characters displayed at the top of the screen. As you proceed in the race. so your character shifts up or down in the cast list in relation to your position. Furthermore, your actual sprite fits the character you choose. So if you choose the cool blonde your sprite'll have long flowing locks (ya big girlie! Er... unless of course you are a girl). Next, you choose your course, and then it's red light, red light, red light again, green light, GO!! You've got two gears, high and low, and a vicious turning lock, so go out there and do your damdest!

The earlier stages of a course are a basic case of belting around, flat out, trying to avoid your opponents. On the later stages a lot more skill is called for, as there are not only cars switching lanes to be coped with, but also hazardous curves that require rapid deceleration! in the now familiar Activision fashion, if you fail to qualify you're given a number of credits. Use all your credits up and it's back to the start.

Although I enjoyed the game and found it really addictive, I've got a few gripes. In 48K mode there's no sound, not even an engine rumble. In 128K the sound alternates between a tune (which got on my nerves after a bit) and the preferable car sound. There's also the crashing noise, as you watch yourself spin nicely through several 360° turns across three (of the same) screens. In 128K the whole game loads in one, but in 48K the five main courses need to be multiloaded from the second side of the tape. (Why does Activision insist on not marking which is side one and two on their tapes?) Finally the collision detection is a bit of a hit and miss affair (geddit!?).

Still, as I say, in spite of this Power Drill plays well and is an excellent conversion. Many of the arcade features like the log tracks are reproduced, and the roller coaster hills are really well rendered. The arcade characters, the lap times and the top three winners are all crammed in here too. So, a very competent conversion but one which suffers from a few little anomalies. If you're a big fan of the arcade hit you won't be disappointed by Power Drift, especially if you've got a 128K. Neeeeoow!

REPLAY

We've got compilations coming out of our ears this month! (And nearly as many reviewers!) So come on baby, let's go!

Hit Squad
£2.99 cass
Reviewer: Trenton Webb

The arcade version of Drift bucked like a particularly peeved, hydraulic bronco and it was a stomach-churning experience. Its roller-coaster circuits were positively evil and while this conversion may not have the graphic grace of the arcade, it's hot-wired the gameplay, driven it away and parked all 25 tracks onto tape. All in one load! Hurrah!

Power Drift follows a simple formula. Finish in the top three of any race and you progress to the next track in that five course sequence. Each four lap outing inspires two minutes of automotive madness, as all 12 drivers fight to the line first. It sounds simple in theory, but getting onto the winners podium is a tad tougher.

After choosing a course and driver, the screen pans down to the start line. This bit's great fun, you can watch the start lights and rev the engine in the best XR3i at traffic lights tradition! (You've been spending too much time with that James, Trenton! Ed) When they hit green, you hit the gas (and all the other drivers try to hit you). A couple of seconds later you're screaming down a gravel track at 130 mph and it's time to shift gears. One press of the fire button and you're in top and heading for trouble. Why? Cos there are no straights on any of the 25 courses, just short stretches of non-bending bits between corners. Eek!

The art of Power Drift is to slide sideways through corners under full throttle, swinging past the saps who slow down and turn. These tracks aren't just unpleasant or terifyingly tight, they're maliciously designed to mangle your car.

With 12 buggies jostling for position, precise control is essential. Your motor responds well to waggling, but it's up to you to thread a safe route for four furious laps. Slip up and the car is flung off the track in a painless pirouette that eats into you lap time and chances of victory. Playful nudges that encourage other drivers over the edge are perfectly acceptable, but they can do it to you too!

Graphically Power Drift is pretty uncompromising, with blocky sprites and occasionally confusing tracks. On the other hand, the racing is excellent and that's where the heart of the game really lies. The main aim of the programmers seems to have been to keep the wheels turning. (So don't be surprised when the soundtrack cuts out half way through a race. It just means life's getting hectic.)

Power Drift captures the high octane spirit of the arcade. You'll need a good eye, good luck and an iron stomach to stay the course of this twisted, 25 track, nightmare. Sunday drivers, caravan towers and milk floats move over - the rules of the road have changed! This alternative Highway Code can be found on the inside of the Power Drift cassette and all mad drivers, boy racers and speed freaks are recommended to grab a copy!

Label: Activision
Author: In-house
Price: £8.95
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various
Reviewer: Jim Douglas

Power Drift must be the boy racer's dream game. All the elements that your XR3 driving mega-lad could possibly desire have been captured; squeely tyres, ultra high speed, treacherous roads, no traffic cops and a simple mission - get round the track before everyone else, by fair means or foul.

Power Drift is viewed by many as the ultimate arcade driving experience. You win more through bottle than driving expertise.

It's a simple fact of life that the graphics are a poor imitation of the coin op. But that's fine. It's the impression of the game that matters. And it's just about there.

The control of the car is simple. Left, right, gas, brake, change gear (hi or low). At the start of each race you can cycle through a selection of drivers (which determine which car you'll have) and then decide on which course you want to race.

The terrain changes wildly from course to course. One moment you'll be swooshing over sand dunes and loose gravel, and the next you'll be smashing your shock absorbers on bone-shaking rock formations.

Different road surfaces require different styles of driving. You'll have to turn in much earlier on a loose surface to avoid sliding out of control.

A point which I found disturbing is that the other drivers on the course never, ever, slide off the track or even drift at all. I'm sure this is nothing to do with the saving on graphics memory involved in only showing the backs of the other cars. I was also a bit bothered by the fact that your wheels don't turn around either.

Everyone in the history of the world must know by now that achieving a three-dimensional effect with some degree of speed is virtually impossible on a home machine.

Obviously, you end up allowing for the sacrifices made by the programmers in order to give a fast game with ropey graphics or a fab looking game that's none too fast. Power Drift strikes a medium that is far from perfect but about as good as anyone could reasonably expect. There are some definitely wonky pieces of coding. On the elevated sections, why do the huge rocks at the side of the road hang, unsupported, in the air? Why can you drive through the tyres of the other cars some times, but get bumped off after a tiny knock at others?

Although I found myself infuriated by these niggles, it has to be said that I did go back and play the game time after time. It definitely has a great deal of finely honed playability. Yes, sometimes it is very hard to see what's going on on the screen, but you're still determined to get that 'third or better' position to get through to the next change.

So, Power Drift wins in the end. It's playability wins through over some dodgy features. A triumph over adversity.

Label: Hit Squad
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £3.99 Tape
Reviewer: Garth Sumpter

Vroom! It's back to the starting grid with this re-release and whilst it may not be in pole position due to a very strong challenge from Stunt Car Racer, yet Activision's skidding racer still boasts a truly pedigree performance.

Choosing your machine and racetrack at the beginning puts you in a series of competitive races where only finishing third or better will allow you to progress onto each successive track.

Tracks vary from sand dunes and loose gravel to great, elevated concrete sections, with each different surface requiring a different style of driving. Loose surfaces have you power drifting around the bends - but take care! If you're too late in braking and turning on less solid surfaces, you're in for a spin, taking precious seconds and positions whilst your car is straightened out.

Power Drift is a good racing game. The playability is excellent and is only let down by some graphical inconsistencies. It's possible to drive through some of your opponents' tyres but not all of them.

However, taking into account the overall playability and feel of the game. It's well worth running round to Boots in the car for, (but watch out for those sandy corners!)

STEVE: Although not a great fan of the game when it first appeared, Power Drift does have some nice points - not least of all the fact that you have to slide around bends. Not a sparkling example but nonetheless good fun.