Xtreme Air Racing. Format: PC CD-ROM. Publisher: Just Flight.

SOMETIMES, it seems, the video games industry can see no further than the end of its nose. Xtreme Air Racing - XAR for short - is a good example of a title that may never have seen the light of day had it not being for the perseverance of the guys who created the game's virtual world.

A highly detailed recreation of air racing - a kind of barnstorming aerial race held with souped up WW II turbo-prop planes in Reno, Nevada, every year - XAR was passed around from publisher to publisher last year.

For a while it seemed as though XAR would be one of those titles that promised much but never delivered - permanently locked in development hell.

Eventually, Victory Simulations, the company behind the project, opted for an unusual sales method. It finished the game alone and sold the complete programme via a web site.

Unfortunately this sales technique wouldn't work in the UK where PC users have been slow to join the broadband revolution.

Even a bare bones version of the programme would have taken an age to download with a standard 56K modem.

So thank goodness for PC publisher Just Flight who signed up XAR for traditional retail distribution in this country. Not only that but the CD version of the game comes with a very comprehensive instruction manual that helps players get even more out of the game.

Each race starts with you already in the air - so anyone unfamiliar with the flight simulation can jump straight into the action without learning how to take off.

Racing without a clearly defined track could be a recipe for disaster (How do you know if you're going the right way?) so XAR uses virtual guides to keep your "bird" pointed the right way.

Should you require any further tips, legendary fighter pilot Bob Hoover provides handy tips mid-flight. It's a bit like having a particularly knowledgeable wing man.

Planes can be pumped up with different engines, bigger propellers, aerodynamic wings and marginal fuel loads for lighter weight.

As well as the real-life Reno racing you can also head off to the Alps and the Arctic for a blast.

GRAN TURISMO CONCEPT: 2002 TOKYO-GENEVA. Format: PS2 DVD-ROM. Publisher: SCEE. Price: £29.99.

GRAN Turismo is one of just a handful of PlayStation game licences that other console manufacturers would love to own.

Created entirely in-house, the original GT transformed the driving genre when it arrived on the original PlayStation. Just about every serious motor racing sim since has incorporated elements from that game and only a handful have come anywhere near its all-round competence.

But what's this? A brand new GT game retailing for just £29.99? Has Sony taken leave of its business senses? Surely a triple-A title (and anything carrying the GT licence deserves to be such a game) should be premium priced?

Before you get too carried away, pause for a moment. This game (henceforward known as Tokyo-Geneva, because that title is just too long for a games column) isn't a true sequel to the excellent Gran Turismo 3. It's a bit more than just an expansion disc - more of an unusual spin-off (notice that I said spin, not rip).

It's actually based on a GT cousin published in Japan last year.

In a bid to make the wait worthwhile for Europeans Sony's guys have polished the graphics and thrown in a few more cars - mainly a bizarre selection of concept creations unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.

The big hook for GT3 was the ability to drive cars only a handful of seriously wealthy gamers would ever be able to own in real life. The unique selling point for Tokyo-Geneva is the chance to cruise around in concept motors that no one outside of a major manufacturer will ever get their hands on no matter how much money they have.

So far so good.

But car makers only show off a handful of concept cars every year so, to pad things out a bit, this game brings back a handful of favourites from GT3 and some other production cars. Not bad but not a patch on the array who could play with in the earlier game.

The feeling that this disc is Gran Turismo Lite continues when you enter the game proper. Veterans of the GT series will be disappointed to find no championships to embark upon, no leagues to climb through and no cups to win. Even worse, there's no cash to earn and no tuning goodies to give your chosen motor a better than evens chance of winning.

There is a licence system but the addition of a pace car robs the game of challenge and anyone who has played GT3 for sometime will find the difficulty level a bit too easy.

Of course, it all looks fabulous and you'll enjoy watching the replays but, with GT3 now at £19.99, GT newbies would probably be better off investing in the original PS2 incarnation.

Serious petrol heads will still buy Tokyo-Geneva and, no doubt, enjoy it, but I'll wager they'll soon find themselves scanning release schedules for the true GT sequel that's due next year.

Published: 26/07/2002