ATV OFF ROAD FURY 3, Publisher: South Peak, Price: £29.99, Family friendly? 3+: JUST ABOUT the only racing genre that hasn't reached saturation point on the PS2, off road racing with all-terrain vehicles is a big deal in America but has yet to enthuse British enthusiasts in quite the same manner.

ATV Off Road Fury may be just the game to give motorsport fans a glimpse of what they are missing.

There are 40 massive free roaming off road environments to race around, each with one of six different terrain types.

Before pulling on your goggles it's a good idea to tinker with your steed in the garage. There are more than 20 customisable parts and components to be changed.

The ATVs are suitably well realised with lots of detail. Fans will enjoy spotting - and riding - their own favourites.

If you get bored with the feature races there are also eight mini games, ranging from treasure hunting to blasting up the side of a mountain.

Offroad Fury 3 proves there's life in the racing genre on PS2 even if the sports they are based upon are becoming more and more of a niche interest.

DRIVER: PARALLEL LINES, Publisher: Atari, Format: PS2, Xbox, Price: £39.99, Family Friendly? 18:

I CAN'T help feeling sorry for this franchise. It helped create the free roaming template that gave birth to the incredibly successful GTA series of games.

But where GTA went on to spawn a succession of sequels that all improved on the original formula, the Driver franchise laboured through two truly dire follow-ups that all but killed the series.

Now it's back but can it get back to those promising roots or is this just another car crash of a video game?

Thankfully the fourth instalment finally shows signs of realising the potential that was hinted at in the original.

It's less unforgiving for a start. Botched up missions can be re-started with the press of a button and checkpoints are sensibly placed throughout the levels. So this time you don't feel as though the odds are always stacked against you and there's a reason to go on even when things don't go to plan.

The way in which the game streams its data - preventing those annoying pauses as info is loaded into the PS2's creaky memory - is excellent. You won't be sitting around watching a "loading" screen very often instead of getting on with the next mission.

Unlike GTA, this series has always rewarded good behaviour and meticulous driving. Here you have to keep an eye on the wanted gauges - one for your character and one for your car - as a mark of how desperate the police are to apprehend you.

As per GTA you get to drive all sorts of vehicles: not just cars but a selection of bikes and trucks as the story progresses. But here again, Parallel Lines takes a different road - it's often just as much fun to slip past a police road block in a new car (with tinted windows to protect your anonymity) than it is to bulldoze through in a set of "hot" wheels.

The usual upgrades - bullet proofing, nitrous oxide to provide a short-term speed boost - are available but it's a better idea to learn your trade as a great wheel-man first before splashing out on extras. Otherwise you spend your time careering into New York's scenery. Although the odd trash can and signpost won't completely wreck your motor, the cumulative effect on your chosen vehicle is predictable.

Likewise, those drivers who like nothing better than chasing pedestrians will be punished as pavement racing costs time and increases the chances of being caught.

Developer Reflections is to be congratulated on crafting a game with a frame-rate that doesn't tank even when the frame is filled with eye candy. There are a few glitches but nothing like the problems that beset the third Driver game.

The police sometimes give up the chase rather easily and the missions do require a serious investment in time but these are niggles rather than serious issues.

From hero to zero, the Driver series goes from also-ran to front runner in one massive leap. For the first time since the original made PlayStation owners sit up and take note, Driver is a worthy addition to any gamer's library.

VIRUS WATCH

Anti-virus experts at SophosLabs are warning PC users not to fall for a chain letter that is spreading across the Internet, claiming that lipstick causes cancer.

The chain letter claims that some brands of lipstick contain a dangerously high level of lead which can cause cancer. Part of it reads: "The higher the lead content, the greater the chance of causing cancer. Watch out for those lipsticks which are supposed to stay longer. If your lipstick stays longer, it is because of the higher content of lead. Here is the test you can do yourself:

1. Put some lipstick on your hand.

2. Use a gold ring to scratch on the lipstick.

3. If the lipstick colour changes to black then you know the lipstick contains lead.

However, Cancer Research UK has confirmed that the email's claims are not true, and Sophos advises that users should simply delete the email.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos says: "Chain letters like this are too easily forwarded to friends, family and colleagues without people using their common sense.

"They are not harmless - they waste time and bandwidth. Users need to be more sceptical, and ask themselves whether everything they are told by email can be believed."

Published: 28/03/2006