waiting for the postman (yes, back in the day when he came before most people
woke up) to deliver a brand new game. I
vividly remember getting this one, and waiting by the kitchen window for the
postman to pop it through the letterbox.
Crammond who is famous for games such as Revs, The Sentinel, and the Formula
One Grand Prix series of games. I first
played this game on a friends Amiga A500 and was blown away by the realistic 3d
graphics, and crazy tracks. When I found
out that it was available on the Commodore 64 as well, I knew I had to get it.
Don’t be put of by the graphics – they move incredibly fast
Unfortunately for the Commodore 64, solid vector graphics
were not one of the systems strengths, but amazingly enough Geoff Crammond was
able to squeeze the whole game in to a single load, and keep the solid polygons
(and more importantly, speed) more or less the same as its 16-bit counterpart. Obviously the game runs at a lower
resolution, and there are not as many colours, but it runs amazingly well
for an 8-bit 3D racer.
From the main menu, there are two playing modes to choose
from – Practice, and Start The Racing Season.
Selecting Practice allows you to play any of the 8 tracks available on
offer, although you will not be able to race any opponents – it’s just you and
the road.
4, and the aim is to win each race and work your way up to Division 1. Obviously, as you progress through the
divisions, the tracks get even more deadly, and more difficult. Also, during each race you must also compete
against opponents.
Oops… I fell of the track!
Because of the 3d nature of the game, incredible crashes
could be achieved. One of my favourites
was ‘accidently’ falling of the top of the “The Rollercoaster”, and watching my
car plummet to the ground in first person view.
The Box (Front)
The Box (Back)
The Tape
