Racing Masters 2008

Never meet your heroes. If there was ever a sure-fire route to disappointment, then seeing one of your idols in the flesh is it. It doesn't matter who they are or for what reason you hold them in such high regard, they'll let you down, because no icon can compare to the ideals you set out for them. Either that, or you'll discover that their 'really good skin' is actually just 'really good airbrushing'.

In similar fashion, destroying fantasy is what Racing Masters 2008 achieves above all else. Yes, if the boys and girls at Digital Jokers are to be believed, then Lewis Hamilton has a rather easy time in his McLaren. Don't be fooled by the crashes and calamities you see on the track every weekend – Lewis is just as likely to be kicking back browsing the latest Heat magazine as he is paying attention to anything going on in front of him on the track.

That is unless, of course, Racing Masters 2008 is actually about as representative of motorsport as My Little Pony is of horse racing. This is a game that is less about proving yourself on the track and more about keeping your eyes open while you occasionally dodge hapless rivals, spewed all over the courses. That said, the game's faults are perhaps more a case of a misleading title rather than a full blown gaming mishap.

Take the game's promotional bumf at its word, and you're set to be thwarted, but treat Racing Masters 2008 as a fairly light take on motorsport – one to while away minutes rather than hours – and then you might well find that investing both your time and money bears some small fruit. What's on offer here is a straightforward racer, which comes with both a dedicated Championship mode and a handy Quick Race option, enabling you to dive straight into a race.

Races themselves are fairly straightforward affairs, with the usual approach of acceleration automatically taken care of. All you have to do is move the car from left to right on the track, taking care to break on any especially harsh corners. Such is the game's simplicity that the development team has even taken it upon itself to merge braking and cornering together on keys '7' and '9', avoiding any crossed-fingers-carnage when a particularly heavy bend presents itself.

However, in doing so Racing Masters 2008 strips the sport back to its very basics, and not in an especially flattering way either. Visually, the car is almost fixed to a horizontal line on the track, simply moving left or right when prompted. This really is a racer that relishes in the uncomplicated. Most events only require you to skip from side to side, neatly avoiding rivals along the way.

The Championship mode adds a touch of sophistication to proceedings, with you initially having to qualify by setting a fast time. However, in practice this is an even more sterile undertaking than the actual races; with nothing but an empty track ahead of you, motivation tends to run dry. Consisting of five races in all, you have to finish in the top three to progress, which – if you manage to stay on the track and avoid bumping into the other cars – is a relatively easy task.

Anything remotely deeper than that is garaged for another day (or, perhaps, a sequel?), leaving Racing Masters 2008 feeling a touch futile and fairly light on challenge and content. This is never going to be the type of game that will clamour for your time, then, nor will it serve up thrill after thrill, but it is moderately competent at what it does do: rather insipid yet accessible racing.