Insane (aka 1nsane) - PC Games

Once again we have an off-road racer with four-wheel drive vehicles--ranging from beach buggies up to trailerless trucks in this game. Once again we have checkpoint-driven racing where you can go off-road as long as you make the checkouts in their designated order. Two other disciplines are added in 1NSANE--capture/return the flag and Jamboree, the latter of which is essentially random checkpoint racing without the track. Ramming other drivers is frankly just another tactic. The claim is made for total freedom and the catch with 1NSANE is the fact that the landscape simply wraps around eventually, even if the degree of freedom is greater than 4x4 Evolution.

Also, unlike 4 x 4 Evolution the vehicles can be dented, battered and the axles wrecked, visibly losing parts. This makes you slightly more careful to avoid rollovers and can make the game more frustrating than fun. The only real failing, however, is the miraculous repair some of the computer cars get after some of their crashes. You have to start unlocking the championship modes for better vehicles and tyres for varying surfaces. Once you are a winner, view and save the replay--a standard feature in modern racers.

With more destructible scenery, the new Codemasters-centric online multiplayer network and even better physics than 4 x 4 Evolution with damage to match and more varied gameplay, it's easily the best off-road racing game since the Monster Truck Madness series with the same sense of fun. --Kenneth Henry