Supercars 2 was one of the first games that I played on my Amiga 500, and I still think that it is one of the best. From the title, you might think that this offering from Magnetic Fields/Gremlin is fairly standard racing fare, but it is a lot more than that.

When you start a race in Supercars 2, you might STILL think that it is a normal top-down view racing game. But wait! That car in front just fired a missile at you! You might notice that you don't HAVE to pass the other cars by your skill at racing, you can just blow them away!

The idea of this game is that you basically race around the track, either passing or destroying cars that get in your way. You get points depending on where you finish in the race, and these points go to your championship ranking on the championship table. You also get money after each race, which you can spend on items for your car, or repairs from all the damage it has received.

There is a great assortment of extras to buy (or sell back) for your car, and I'll talk about a few here. Firstly from the weapons point of view, you can buy the basic missile in either forward or reverse shooting; the forward missile shoots out of the front of the car in a straight line, and of course the reverse missile does the same, but travels back from the car. I'll leave you to explore the possibility of the other weapons, such as the homing missile, the super missile and the mine. You can also buy items to enhance your car. The engine upgrade is the obvious item here; it increases your car's speed. You can also buy a ram for your car, and armour for protection. The great thing about the shop is that the prices change depending on what the next track will be like. If the next track is very winding, then the price for an engine upgrade will be relatively low, and so on. If you play your cards right, you can actually make money by buying something that is really cheap and selling it later when it is expensive.

That gets me on to the amazing array of tracks in this game. The graphics for the tracks are done brilliantly. After returning from a trip to England this January, I played Supercars 2 and I felt like I was back there. I think the use of grey helps that a lot. The actual tracks are all very well done. There are three difficulty levels, each level has a different group of tracks. There are many 'extras' in the tracks, particularly in the harder levels. One of the most devious extras in some of the tracks are the boom gates. These gates open and close with a set time delay. If you are lucky to get through the gates, they give you a shortcut, but if they close on you, you blow up! Many tracks have jumps that are a nightmare to make across in heavy traffic. There are even tracks with railway lines to cross, just make sure you cross them when the train isn't coming!

Although Super Cars 2 is one of my favourite games in one player mode, it is in two player mode where the game really shines. The screen splits into two sections, so each player can race their own race, unlike games such as All Terrain Racing. The game itself is the same format as the one player; you are both in the championship with all the other cars. The fun of blowing up your friend's car with a well aimed missile and taking the lead >from them is really good. For something REALLY good, try putting a mine inside oneof the tunnels, or under a bridge.

One more thing, don't be put off that controlling your 'supercar' takes a little while to get used to, eventually you'll be skidding your way around the corners with the best of them!