Micro Style/Geoff Crammond & Pete Cooke
£9.99 cass, £14.99 disk
Formula 1 motor racing was a popular sport back in the late 20th Century, but people are clamouring for more excitement and thus in the 21st Century Stunt Car racing is introduced. And now the track is a large aerial structure rather like an old time roller coaster. Not for those of faint heart.
Choose single player or multiplayer option, practise one of the eight tracks then start the racing season. The aim of this 3D game is simple, rise from the bottom of division four to the top of division one. There are two tracks in each division, Hump Back and Little Ramp in four, Big Ramp and Stepping Stones in three, Roller Coaster and High jump in two and finally Draw Bridge and Ski jump in one.
Practise is advised, but when you feel confident enough to tackle a race your car is winched up to the starting line and the race is on. You are presented with a driver's eye view of the course, so the track along with the huge V8 engine that powers your vehicle is visible through the windscreen. There are eleven other racers all as keen as you to win the title of top racer, and like you they will stop at nothing to win. Your car is a speedy little devil capable of over three hundred turbo charged MPH.
Don't think you can race around without risk: watch the top of the screen - if you continually abuse the car large cracks appear. This is your damage meter, and if you prang the car too much it will be termed a wreck.
Win or lose, I enjoyed playing Stunt Car greatly - a hair raising Speccy game. The graphics are very sparse with the front of the car and the track the only features, but at over three hundred big ones you probably won't have time to see much of a background. One slight niggle is that when you prang the car it takes so damn long for the winch to get you back onto the track. That said though, Stunt Car is a great way to get the old adrenalin pumping.
MARK [89%]
What's the sudden attraction of 3-D car games? This is the second I've had to review this month. You've got to admit that they're pretty damn good fun though. Stunt Car Racer is not as varied as Hard Drivin', but it's still addictive and boasts amazing graphics. The only trouble with this game is that only having set courses to zoom along you feel quite restricted. Each course is made up of line graphics that all whizz by and twist and turn to give a great feeling of movement. The car takes some controlling to begin with, and you usually end up falling off the edge of the track. Before you start each course you get an overall view of it to see exactly what you're up against which is a nice touch. Stunt Car Racer is a fun game which you can play for hours without getting fed up. Bring the nearest thing to being on a roller coaster onto your computer now.
NICK [84%]
Kixx
£3.99 cassette
It's the future (well it isn't really, but let's pretend - let's pretend, can you play at... ahem) and a new breed of motor sport is very popular. Stunt car racing takes you to a massive, roller coaster-style track only the certifiably insane (or CRASH reviewers) would attempt. And three guesses who one of the drivers is (you mad, impetuous fool, you!)?
But first comes the prerequisite options screen. Choose single or multi-player and whether to practice or enter the race proper (first-time players are advised to practice). The ultimate aim of the game is simple: to rise through the ranks from the bottom of the fourth division to the top of the first.
There are two tracks in each division. In four there's Hump Back and Little Ramp, three has Big Ramp and Stepping Stones, Roller Coaster and High jump in two and the first division features Draw Bridge and Ski Yoghurt. Err, jump.
However many human players there are, each race is against a computer-controlled car. You're presented with a driver's eye view of the course so the track and huge V8 engine that powers the vehicle are visible.
To move up the drivers' chart you have to win as many races as possible, so toe the gas pedal and drive like a bat out of hell (and be gone when the morning comes... or something like that). The car's capable of a skull-mangling 300mph, but driving like a lunatic damages the car - as does pranging it into the ground at warp speeds (surprised?).
I loved Stunt Car Racer when we reviewed it back in Issue 72, and it's just as good today. There's a real feeling of movement but the background's sparse - though one doubts you'd see a lot at these speeds anyway.
Stick a large saucepan on yer bonce and buy Stunt Car Racer today! (Try in vain to get the bloomin' thing off your head and go to the casualty department tomorrow!)
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