Speed Freaks is a character based racing game with the emphasis on out and out fun that has been developed exclusively for PlayStation by Funcom Dublin over a period of two years. Unlike most kart racers Speed Freaks uses a real physics model based on real track carts but also of road quad bikes to provide a genuine feel to the characters and to provide a realistic racing challenge.

Speed Freaks boast 6 main characters to select plus 3 extra hidden characters who can be unlocked as players progress through the game. These characters are all mischief-makers; malevolent little scamps whom while away their lives in one big thrill seeking extravaganza, but most of all they love to race at high speeds.

In Speed Freaks there are 12 tracks in total spread across 3 leagues. In each league there is one track from one of four different racing environments, namely the raceway, the volcanic island, the theme park, and the city. In addition there are two classes of competition to ensure long-term challenge and the very highest speeds!

Good driving is all you need here though. Throughout every course there are dozens of pick-ups to collect, these take two forms; turbo pick-ups, and power-ups (for weapons). The turbo pick-ups enable players to gradually fill a turbo bar situated at the top of the screen – players can use there accumulated turbo at any time to gain a burst of speed or they can wait for a full bar for that extra boost. Similarly there are heaps of crazy weapons to pick up and use including heat seeking missiles, machine guns and a mysterious stealth shield. All weapons can be fired forwards and backwards. Characters can also fight with other characters – there are no rules!

Speed Freaks boasts beautiful graphics, superb track design, masses of short cuts and hidden areas, excellent sound and fantastic FMV. Speed Freaks is one of the fastest, smoothest and most importantly, enjoyable games ever made – just don’t play fair whatever you do.