The most obvious benefit of Screamer Rally over the previous version is the addition of 3D hardware support, and boy does this make some difference. The graphics flow along very smoothly and never once dropped a frame. The tracks, of which there are seven (six plus a bonus track) are excellent. They are long, varied and very undulating, watch that bump throw your car up onto two wheels as you struggle to stay in control. The road surfaces vary with and within each track. The detail is amazing and ranges from tarmac, sand, dirt, .....you get the picture. HOWEVER, and in my mind this is a big downer, there is high amount of pop-up and I can't help feeling that Milestone could have moved the rear clipping plane back a tad without compromising the fluidity of the game.

The sound tracks included with the game range from the sublime Drum and Bass to hard hitting Dance and they are BANGING! The sound effects of the cars are the same as Screamer 2 and I am sorry to say that they are a bit of a let down.

Gameplay is top-notch. The controls are very responsive and bearing in mind that this is an arcade game not a SIM they are pretty realistic. The car handling changes with each surface you come across and there is the option to set up the characteristics of your car (tyre pressure, suspension etc) but personally I haven't bothered with this yet, sticking to the standard set up of each car.

This is a great game and at the moment there isn't really a rally game to beat it. It's just a pity that it is let down by that terrible pop-up. A patch on the way I hope.