"Very very VERY fast!"

There are many grade A racing titles out on Dreamcast. For instance, there's the sublime if tough Metropolis Street Racer, there's the equally great Sega Rally 2 and V-Rally 2, there's the underrated Tokyo Highway Challenge series and then there's my personal favourite Vanishing Point. And a LOT more besides. However as far as the futuristic racer sub-genre was concerned, there'd been little in the way of truly great titles - Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer had been distinctly average, Pod 2 was a major let down (especially as the original was one of my all time favourite games) and Loony Tunes Space Race... well that was just Loony Tunes Space Race.

I hadn't really wanted this game. All the reviews I'd seen had been pretty much totally negative. Hell it got an abysmal 3/10 in the Official Dreamcast Magazine. But as my local game store was selling it for just £3, I decided to indulge myself and buy it - and I must admit I was very pleasantly surprised. As usual, the setting is the obligatory ''Sport of the Future! Perilous weapon based racing!'' as seen in around 50% of all racing games prior to the release of Wipeout. However it does feature quite an original aspect - in order to go around the many stomach churning banks and loops of the circuits, the players craft must engage its magnet to stay on the track. While at times quite annoying, this feature is quite ingenious and makes for some tense action.

Aside from this though, it's pretty much business as usual. The design of the crafts and tracks are pitched somewhere between F-Zero and Wipeout and whilst being nothing you wouldn't have seen on the N64 or Playstation (the game is in fact a conversion of the minor PS1 hit Killer Loop), does run at a blistering 60fps even in split screen and also features some very pretty lighting effects. It's also very VERY fast. Oh yes. Starting out in a Class 1 racer, things are pretty speedy but as you get through to the higher classes things get really fast. We're talking epilepsy/nosebleed inducing speed here. This in fact proves to be both a very good thing and a very bad thing. Whilst the speed at time creates a true adrenaline rush, at times it makes the game very very difficult, especially if you haven't got Magnet Assistance on.

As off-putting as this might be, MagForce Racing does redeem itself by having lots to unlock. There's 10 circuits, which get progressively more insane (from the relatively simple Moscow to the twisting likes of the brilliant Osaka and Needle Rock tracks) and countless ships. Whilst unlocking new vehicles does take time and isn't helped by the clumsy menu system, it'll take a helluva lot of time to play through. Another bonus is the many multi-player modes available (although some do require unlocking first). Soundwise it's standard pumping techno, which ranges from the sublime to the repetitive. It's nothing special but it sets the tone quite well.

So has the Dreamcast got the great futuristic racer it deserves? Probably not, but Magforce Racing is still cream of the crop. The speed and handling may put some off, and to be honest it's not the flashiest game in the world, but it still manages to be great exhilarating fun and will keep most gamers playing it for ages.

GRAPHICS - 7/10 - Whilst the tracks lack detail, the frame rate is blistering and there's some pretty snazzy lighting effects.

SOUND - 6/10 - Some of the music is horribly repetitive, but the rest is actually quite good. The sound effects get the job done.

GAMEPLAY - 7/10 - Far from perfect but it's probably the most insanely fast game on Dreamcast. Play whilst hyper on caffeine is recommended!

LIFESPAN - 8/10 - Loads of unlockable circuits and ships and a nice variety of mutli-player shenanigans make this quite a hefty game.

OVERALL - 7/10 - Easily the best futuristic racer on Dreamcast (although that's not saying much!) and the closest it's ever going to get to seeing Wipeout. Has its fair share of flaws, but the gob-smacking speed and size of the game make this one a winner.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/02, Updated 11/21/02