A year after we raved over 3D cars whizzing about 3D but largely flat courses, the zeitgeist is for a far more demanding experience. Dynamic, exceptionally varied landscapes is today's fashion, exemplified by the imminent mob of jetski games. Hardcore is desperately scooting ahead of that crowd, and most particularly Psygnosis's imminent Monster Trucks.

The first thing to say about Hardcore is that Gremlin's programmers have, once again, done the company proud. The six, progressively more complex and difficult tracks are not only impressively hilly, but remarkably cohesive with minimal texture distortion and polygon tearing. Add in six huge trucks bouncing about at a fair old speed and you can't help but admire their determination.

Daihatsu Fourtrack
Dropped on top of this programming wizardry is a relatively conventional game structure: you can whiz about the tracks in a one-off single race, a time trial or take them all in championship mode. In the latter, you compete against five CPU controlled trucks, drawn from a selection of six trucks offering varying trade-offs between speed and grip. Come first in championship mode and you progress from Novice to Pro, with 25% more horsepower and four laps rather than three. Extreme Mode ups the laps to five and adds another 25% horsepower. A wild card factor is the weather, while selectable in other modes, for the championship it's totally random, cycling through Good, Overcast and Severe in permutation with Day or Night-time conditions. The differences have real impact, reducing visibility and traction.

The speed of the graphics engine makes Hardcore instantly appealing, bumping over such challenging terrain in a huge 4x4 is good fun. However the more you play, the more you want from the game. It is, for example, a neat idea how the route isn't clearly signposted lending an air of adventure, especially on the first lap. But after that first, relatively brief lap it all settles down into a familiar groove. Bigger tracks, perhaps with varying routes to require off-road map-reading, would be as welcome as a few more tracks -- particularly bonus ones. The ability to save after every race is welcome, but lessens challenge. Anyone can fluke one excellent race result, making success often a matter of persistence and luck rather than skill.

Land Rover
Shortcuts could be made more of as well. Certainly the racing isn't as satisfying as it could be, 4x4s are obviously not the most nimble of vehicles. Overtaking on a straight, with all the trucks bunched together, is something of a lottery, entertaining but less than precise. The main overtaking manoeuvre is cutting corners, judging just how early to take an inclined turn is entertaining but ultimately a little repetitive.

Another neat idea is mud being churned up by the truck ahead, obscuring your vision with huge clumps whirling across the screen. Pity they're so crude and blocky. Fog bound tracks lessen visibility further, heightening the rough and ready feel which is the game's principal strength. Night-time tracks have a similar appeal, but again you wish the programmers had been given more time: while the scenery is cloaked in darkness, the trucks are lit for daytime conditions. Given the PlayStation's excellent lighting effects, and the programmers' skill, it's a considerable shame there wasn't time to execute this properly. Imagine slippin'-slidin' through a night track with your headlights filtering through a thick veil of snow...

Overall, Hardcore is another perfectly fine Gremlin game, clearly designed to exploit the PlayStation's chipset to maximum effect. If a little less speed might've made for a classier product, at least what's here is playable enough. The gravel-crunching approach of Monster Trucks is daunting, but its ambition by no means ensures it will be better.

Verdict: 81%