Autobahn Racer: World Challenge

We like the sound of any driving game with 'Autobahn' in the title, simply because we're all fully aware that sections of the German motorways are free of some tiresome concerns such as speed limits, meaning drivers are able to travel at whatever velocity they wish – which, given some of the seriously powerful machinery common on such roads, usually ends up being something between light speed and warp factor 9.8.

And while Autobahn Racer is a pretty standard driving game, thankfully the speed we crave is there in spades, with everything shifting along very comfortably at an impressive rate.

You begin by picking one of three cars, selecting the paint job that offends least and then burning up enough fuel to leave a Brontosaurus-sized carbon footprint in your wake. The game's ten tracks are split up into five cities (two in each) and take you to Paris, London, Barcelona, Helsinki and Las Vegas. But there's little time for sightseeing as the object of the game is to trounce the local hotshots in street races, and win bundles of dirty cash in doing so. Lovely.

There are few pleasantries in racing of this nature, and the game rewards you financially for speeding past cops, shunting other cars off the track and generally making a nuisance of yourself. All that bashing causes damage, of course, but you'll find on-track pick-ups to repair your ride, as well as others to reward you with additional money or with more nitros.

Cash is clearly important when it comes to upgrading your car, too, which you can do at the end of each race. There's a small amount of strategy here, as you want to make sure that your car is fast enough to win races, but also sturdy enough to last the distance.

Ultimately, it's a fun package. The clever inclusion of the power-ups, together with the remarkably intelligent computer-controlled opponents mean that playing through the various stages is far more enjoyable than you'd initially imagine.

Living Mobile has been wise to understand precisely the limitations of the format, yet has still managed to produce a 3D driving game that has enough class and style to keep you hooked.

Sure, all the stages – with the exceptions of the slippery Helsinki duo – look and feel very much the same, yet this hardly detracts from the fun of the game. Equally, the graphics are a little rough around the edges (even for our 750i review handset), but when the result of this compromise is a speedy, smoothly scrolling track, we think the developer has got its priorities right.

However, just when you think you've assembled all of the components to guarantee a really classy driving game, it's all suddenly over. The difficulty level may result in a few neck-and-neck finishes on some of the courses but you'll rarely have to attempt any of the levels more than twice in order to proceed. And once you've beaten what the game has to offer at what will feel like warp factor speed, there's little incentive to play it again.