Rollercoaster Rush: 99 Tracks

No matter how nervous you might get in the queue, you're probably safer riding a rollercoaster than you are making yourself a cup of tea in your own kitchen. I don't actually have any statistics to back that up, but it makes a good soundbyte, doesn't it? Nevertheless, the modern coaster is designed with such precision that accidents, even the world over, are incredibly rare.

There's no such certainly of safety when it comes to Digital Chocolate's Rollercoaster Rush: 99 Tracks – the latest addition to the Rollercoaster Rush mobile franchise – where cars leaving the rails and flying through the air is actively encouraged. The kind of rides you would never dare to line up for in reality, moderating between insane speeds and the prudence that minds against crashes is your job here, and literally the only action you take across Rollercoaster Rush's 99 tracks is that of determining just how fast you dare push the cars along the way.

Holding down '6' causes the speed of your cars to increase, while hitting the '4' key brings on the brakes, calming your progress and bringing you back down to track level if you happen to be flying through the air at the time. And, a lot of the time, you will. Rollercoaster Rush: 99 Tracks's courses are designed with excitement in mind, throwing in loops, jumps, bumps and gaps in the rails with gay abandon. This is whence the challenge comes, with your speed directly affecting how you cope with these obstacles.

It's all a question of balance: the game's scores of loops rely on pace, with your passengers falling out of their cars if you reach 180 degrees without sufficient speed to make it all the way round. The gaps in the track can prove hazardous without speed also, but this is counteracted by the game's huge lumps and bumps – the track climbing steeply northwards, before dropping back down again almost instantly. Pick up too much pace on the way up, and you can easily fly into the air at the top, crashing into the track on the way back down.

Success therefore comes from picking the right car (as you play, further models become available, offering up varying rates of speed and flexibility), checking the track before you kick off (a preview of each course's various ups and downs is played out when you pick your car) and then moderating both your speed and your prudence, choosing the right times to go for broke and the right times to slam on the brakes.

It's also worth noting that excitement is key, with the game awarding stars as you traverse the track based on how thrilled your riders are – riders that build as you make your way across the globe, from China to the United States and Europe.

Again, any joy you have is directly linked the art of balancing black and white. Case in point: your guests wish to be entertained, and points and stars are awarded for daring moves you manage to pull off. However, crashes result in carts falling off at the back of the chain, meaning there are fewer riders to thrill, fewer points to pick up, and a possible restart needed if you lose them all.

But it's the game's yen for sheer bloody-minded entertainment that is Rollercoaster Rush: 99 Tracks's lifeblood. This is simple, addictive play that almost becomes second nature after a few minutes at the helm – play that lets you take to that dangerous track and make a cup of tea, all at the same time. How 'living on the edge' is that?