BARGAIN BASEMENT

As those modern philosophers Status Quo once said, "Down down deeper and down, down down deeper and down." MARCUS BERKMAN trips in the stairwell...

Mastertronic Plus
£2.99
Reviewer: Marcus Berkmann

I'm not quite sure exactly how high this one would score in the 'rad' department, but it's certainly quite fun. It's another one of those sideways-scrolling jobettes, this time with you jumping aboard a skateboard or BMX and bombing it about for six minutes (two minutes per level, actually) trying to score as many points as possible. The more ramps you jump over the more you score, providing of course you don't collide with a lampost and 'wipe out' (ie fall off).

No doubt you'll soon get bored of racing about the same boring old tracks, so why not design a fiendishly hard one yourself on the built-in course editor? Hours of fun. The original track you play on is quite short, but there are two quarter pipes (spooky ramp things) at each side of each level so you can turn and keep going back and forth (if you see what I mean).

Ho hum. Nothing too exciting, I'm afraid, but we are in down the basment so I suppose you can I really expect too much. It's cheap, it's cheerful and it's fun. What more could you ask for?

Label: Mastertronic
Price: £2.99
Reviewer: Gary Redrup

Yo! Hip dudes get down! Get with it! Come round and play Rad Ramp Racer with me; the hippest dude in the world. This is a severe game man!

You are Mr Rad himself, and cruising with either your BMX bike or skateboard, you've got to cool your way around town.

In all you go through 3 different courses full of ramps, flags and barrels, also 50 point bonuses dotted around the course. You spend a great deal of time negotiating half-pipes.

Extra points are gained by performing tricks on the ramps and these are performed by puling the joystick back and either going left or right The simple aim is to amass as many points as possible.

The graphics are good and very clear and there is a fair splash of colour. The screen is split into two. The skater sits in the upper half with the biker in the lower. If you're playing against the computer, it takes control of the spare vehicle.

Since you've only got three minutes per round, its better to err on the side of caution rather than end up on the floor and have to go through the rigmarole of getting up, dusting yourself off and getting moving again.

There is some good sound like a wonderful tune at the beginning of the race and the spot FX are pretty good, they really add to the atmosphere.

This is one of the better budget versions of games like 720 or Skate Crazy, but unlike those games Rad Ramp Racer hasn't much of a play area. Once you've fully explored it, there really isn't much left to do.

But the gameplay is very good (apart from the halfpipes) and the graphics are clear and very recognisable. My advice is to watch the demo first to see how the computer does it then try and imitate it. This way you can gauge the appropriate speed to take the ramps at. Believe me, it saves a lot of unexplained dismounts.

If there's a space in your software library for a token Rad Skate/Bike Sim, RRR will fill it perfectly happily, but don't expect the Earth.

Mastertronic Plus
Spectrum/C64 £2.99

Get on your wheels (BMX or skates) and get down to the skate park where you take on another dude (human or computer-controlled) to find out who's the baddest guy around. But you gotta make sure you're up to it, or you'll find yourself flat on the face and you'll look as cool as a month-old radish sandwich. Leap over obstacles, pull off fancy tricks, fall over, and generally make a berk of yourself. Actually, this game isn't half bad. The two-player option gives the game a boost, but even playing the computer is fun. Give it a go, and show 'em all how totally hip and rad you are.