Hotshot Racing is an arcade-style racing game fusing drift handling, retro visuals and a sense of speed to create an exhilarating driving experience. 16 racing circuits provide the twists, turns and straights conducive to searingly quick racing. Take in coastal, jungle, alpine and Las Vegas desert environments, with each course modelled with the most vivid colours and blue skies for miles...

For those who like their racing games without any frills and with a simple to pick up and play design, then Hotshot Racing may be a game you'll get hours of entertainment out of.

Recently I've been playing a lot of homemade games produced in Dreams, and my first impression of Hotshot Racing was that it was a slightly polished version of some of the racing games I've played for free on Dreams. The customisational aspects (you can unlock and change the look of your car and your driver's outfit) aren't all that interesting and I ended up, for the most part, sticking with the default choices.

I played the offline main tournament game and managed to rank first place on easy mode on my second play through. It is important that you chose the right driver and car as speed isn't always the best way to go. It's very much dependant on your own driving style as to which car will work best for you. When racing you can drift around corners, which fills up your boost bar to give you a quick injection of speed when you most need it.

The graphics are retro and blocky, which while giving it a certain charm, also makes it look like a game that could have been released on the PS1. The AI had a tendency to be annoyingly good at shunting you off your line... usually when you are near the finish line.

There are a number of other modes. While 'Time Trial' and 'Grand Prix' modes cater to those who like to compete in classic racing formats, while ‘Cops and Robbers’ and ‘Drive or Explode’ modes offer new ways to play. Each mode is available in single-player, four-player split-screen and eight-player online, while 'Time Trial' is single-player only.

For 'Cops and Robbers' you start the race as either a cop or a robber. As a cop you have to bash into the robbers and stop them. As a robber you have to get away from the cops. Once a Robber's health is depleted, that player becomes a cop and has to stop the remaining robbers.

In 'Drive or Explode' you have to stay above a certain speed (which keeps increasing as you pass checkpoints) and if your health bar gets too low you explode. The winner is the player who manages to be the last alive.

Online, with friends and other gamers, is where you'll get the most fun out of Hotshot Racing. Overall it's an easy game to quickly pick up and play. But, it may be a little simple and retro looking for many.

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Nick Smithson