Kart Rush

Kart Rush is a behind-the-kart racer drawn like a Saturday-morning cartoon. The track is a flat ribbon of tarmac projected in perspective, so the road rolls and banks towards a puffy-cloud horizon while everything on it — rivals, trees, item boxes, the jelly you just dropped — scales up smoothly as it comes at you. Eight karts start on the grid, and you are in the middle of it.

The driving is easy to pick up and has a ceiling. Gas, brake and steer get you round; holding drift through a long corner locks the kart into a slide that charges to blue, orange and pink, and letting go at the right moment fires a mini-boost out of the exit. Ramps throw you into the air, the grass outside the rumble strips drags you down to a crawl, and a bump from a heavier rival will put you on the wrong line into the next bend. Item boxes hand out five things: a turbo, a wobbling jelly you drop behind you, a shield that shrugs off one hit, a homing bubble that pops the kart in front, and a bolt that shrinks the entire rest of the field for a few seconds. What you get depends on where you are — the leader mostly gets defence, last place gets the good stuff.

Four circuits, each with its own weather and scenery: Meadow Circuit is wide and forgiving, Sandcastle Bay runs long sweepers along the water, Snowcone Summit climbs and drops through tight bends, and Neon Speedway is a night track of long straights and hairpins. Race any of them on their own, or take all four in the Kart Rush Cup, where points are awarded for each finish and the table is settled after the last flag. Two of you on one keyboard can split the screen and settle it between yourselves; best lap and best race times are kept for every circuit.