I remember Lotus Challenge Turbo Esprit on the Amiga. It was the first racing game that I was really, really addicted to. It was groundbreaking at the time - great graphics and tunes, an amazing sense of speed, even weather effects! It was also incredibly tough. I've never been so addicted to a racing game since. This latest Lotus title, Lotus Challenge, will never compete with my nostalgia, but how will it compete against the other racers available on Xbox?

The answer is reasonably well. Lotus Challenge is a racer that does everything by the book and does it well. It's not trying to be new, different or mould breaking but it succeeds at being a good, enjoyable racer.

One of the strongest points of the game is the range of cars available - there are a total of 38 cars to try around 17 tracks, which mostly need to be unlocked by completing the various Championships. The novelty factor is that these span almost 50 years of Lotus history, from the 1957 Elite through the 1983 Esprit Turbo S3 to the 1998 Elise 111S and 2002 Roadster. The cars are accurately represented with a range of team colours to choose from. There are also subtle differences in the handling of the cars (which are particularly noticeable in the Formula Lotus cars) and so some hold the road better than others, turning arcs vary and so on.

You can dive straight into a single race if you like, which might be wise just to try out a few cars and get to grips with the handling, or go for the Championship mode. In this there are 7 distinct classes to race in - A, B and Super for both modern and classic cars, plus the Formula Lotus class. Starting in B Class with novice drivers is highly recommended, as the Pro mode is a lot tougher. A cool single screen menu design takes you through the option selection process - you choose your car and colours, then you can modify the damage levels, driving aids and computer skill level before starting the race. The driving aids, including ABS, do make the cars easier to handle so I advise you to leave them on and the minimal damage option is fun as the cars take a pounding but the handling and power is unaffected.

The graphics are quite good and although they're not up to Project Gotham Racing's very high standards, everything looks nice and there are a few classy touches that I haven't seen done elsewhere. The scenery is fairly detailed with a very moody, overcast sky for one of the UK levels and blue skies with puffs of cloud floating by for some others. There are only 5 different locations for the races but there is plenty of variety within these and the UK levels look particularly good. When you drive around the Bellingham course you will speed through a village that does look authentically British - the traditional red phone boxes and post boxes are present, with traditional style houses dotted along the roads with an old church alongside them. There is even a zebra crossing, deer signs and speed cameras that look so real you have to fight the urge not to hit the brakes. The London level is detailed too but again not a patch on PGR. One of the weather effects that works particularly well is that at certain points on a sunny course the screen goes really bright as the sun half blinds you, just like in real life - it's really convincing.

The cars handle well, although the controls take a bit of getting used to as the sharpness of steering is greatly affected when you are braking or accelerating - more so than seems natural or realistic at times. However, once you get used to this and start using the brake and handbrake to slide around corners, it falls into place. The cars are very shiny with some good reflection mapping on them but they're not quite as intricate as those in other racers (I don't want to mention PGR too many times!) The damage effects are quite nice too and as you scrape and smash your car into barriers or other cars, the bodywork is scratched and bent out of shape. The course designs are all really good and break you in gently before sending you around some fiendishly twisty tracks in the tougher classes. The computer skill is nicely balanced too and although there is an on rails feeling the cars do sometimes make mistakes - I saw one go up on two wheels and then tip over, something that's quite easy to do in some of the earlier Lotus models.

There are two outside and two inside views to choose from and one of the inside views is at ground level - there is a real feeling of speed and excitement from all views but the ground level one is particularly speedy. The sound effects are good and there is a range of engine noises to go with the cars but it's worth turning these down to about a quarter of maximum so you can hear the excellent music on offer. There are a number of excellent dance tracks with an ambient vibe that wouldn't be out of place on a Ministry of Sound Chillout album and they really are the perfect driving music - I'd happily listen to the soundtrack on my way back home late at night when it's just me and the road.

The other mode available is the Challenge Mode, where you choose a driver and start a career, completing a very long series of challenges. You start off with Time Trial and Manoeuvring challenges and progress from there. Each challenge falls into one of four categories - Race, Challenge, Event or Stunt and as you complete them they become available to play in the Single Game mode, which means you can revisit any challenge in any unlocked car - a nice touch. Apart from the obvious racing, the challenges include things like the time trial and there is a cool level when you must race past speed cameras as fast as you possibly can. Stunts include keeping up a very long skid and performing jumps, whilst the events are quite imaginative, one of which is a football penalty shootout - in cars! This is actually a lot more fun (and a lot trickier) than it sounds. As you progress the challenges become more exciting and outrageous but I don't want to spoil all the surprises! Suffice to say that this variety all adds to the life of the game - the only downside is that some of them can be tiresome and a real pain to complete.

So far so good - there is little to dislike about Lotus Challenge but there is also no exceptional hook and it is lacking the front-end polish to be anything more than good. Despite the variety of things to do I am not sure that the game will hold the interest of anyone other than real racer fans for very long. There are a few flaws that are minor but worth a mention. You can restart the race (as long as you don't cross the finish line) in Championship mode, thus removing some of the tension and pressure to win at all costs. The replay feature is quite basic with no control and only two sets of camera angles to view from, both of which can end up with a barrier blocking the camera's view at certain times. Despite the excellent soundtrack there is no customisable soundtrack feature, which is surely mandatory for racing games? You can only play two-player split screen, with no system link or online play options. These aren't faults so much as missing features but they do reduce the game's versatility.

Lotus Challenge is a good, solid racer that is fun to play but has nothing that sets it apart from the competition. You'll enjoy it but I'm not sure for how long. The online thrills of Moto GP or Project Gotham Racing for just £19.99 are both better alternatives, but if you've played those games to death and want a racing fix before PGR2 comes out then this one will fill the gap nicely.

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).