Stunt Car Racer

Cunning STunts

Stonish are having a fantastic year with tons of new additions to their database. I downloaded a few of these cracking menu disks (see what I did there?) and ended up playing through the goodies found on Supremacy #7: James Pond, a Steve Bak classic. Action Fighter, hey, this is good. The Mystic Well, one for geeks! But it was Stunt Car Racer that had me hooked. Well, it's a classic 16-bit racer that hasn't aged at all.

Back in the day, I remembered friends telling me about a new 3D racer by Geoff Crammond. It's a cunning mix of Evel Knievel and (a playable version of) Hard Drivin'. Some games age like a fine wine. This is one.

Let's take a peep at all the drivers. A weird bunch, although High Flyer looks cute...

Genius track design with incredibly cunning tricks and a motley crew to race against!

30 years later...

I booted up Stunt Car Racer and attempted a couple of practice laps, like it was 1989 again. To my surprise, I didn't crash or fall off the track!!! So I played another game and even participated in a league challenge, which I won. Now, I began gleaming with pride because this wasn't like me at all. Normally, I suck at all games. Yup, this success went straight to my head, and I started to get very excited - not easy at my age!

So I dared myself on and practised several different types of wicked tracks, with varying degrees of success. I'm being kind there: The Stepping Stones is a killer, which I think everybody should foolishly attempt, Kamikaze style. It's insane!! The Draw Bridge looks easy but has a nifty trick up its sleeve... I'll not spoil that. And The Big Ramp features a ginormous monster gap, which can only be jumped by going over 200mph. Are you fast enough? There might only be 8 tracks, but they are beauties, and this game proves itself a classic.

Wanna see some gameplay screenshots? Are you up for that? Of course, you are...

I love the way you are dropped in!

Now the fun begins against a blocky opponent.

I thought I was catching him up...

Sigh, I skidded into the dirt - only to watch him zoom away!

This is fun fun fun!!

Practice mode is great for learning the ropes and mastering those difficult parts of most tracks, but I found myself jumping straight into the league to compete against a computer-controlled opponent. These guys are well-balanced - the computer ain't no slouch, but nor is it Jimmie Johnson (ie, impossible to beat). Additionally, you can compete against friends and even hook up your ST to another glorious Atari computer. Or... maybe you have an Amiga friend to link up with? Nah, I didn't think so, but it is an option. ;)

Stunt Car Racer is controlled using the joystick: pushing up accelerates, whilst fire enables turbo boost for extra speed. Pulling down breaks (and can reverse), which comes in handy after falling off the tracks. Turning left or right isn't overly sensitive, but precise and natural, so comfortably realistic. Thus, instantly playable! Mastering the buggy's controls isn't tedious like other similar racers. In fact, it's rather rewarding.

Success will come because this game is playable! A trait often overlooked, and here I triumphed...

    
You win some, you lose some... Stick with it, and you'll be their hero (click 'em)

Aesthetics!

Graphically, this lacks the polished pizzazz of Lotus 2 or Crazy Cars 3. Thankfully, that is actually a good thing because the framerate doesn't suffer from unnecessary aesthetics. The graphics may look bland, but this simplicity is what keeps the action smooth. I'd rather have that any day compared to nicer aesthetics.

Sadly, the sounds aren't exactly the best I've heard from my ST: there are numerous effects, but that engine noise could have been better (I found myself turning the volume down). I'd love to see this improved with STe DMA effects just like we have in other games [subtle hint directed at Jamie, Jon, and Peter!!]

So, it looks & sounds weirdly acceptable, but moves like a dream! It's screenshot time...

This is always a cool glimpse at the next track, which I love.

In fact, I'd go as far as saying that these images are some of the best in the entire game ;)

The CryptO'pinion?

Stunt Car Racer is fast and furious with wonky tracks that are thrilling to race on, thanks to the spot-on perfect physics. Whether you choose to master the tricky stunts (in Practice mode) or jump straight into a league battle, I guarantee hours of fun. The stunt aspects are addictive, unlike Hard Drivin. Mr Crammond delivered a truly wonderful racer, which is both incredibly exciting and bucket-loads of fun!!

This is one of the very best Atari ST racers and is worth nothing less than a glorious rating of 10/10.

I suggest you bob over to Atari Legend

and download this, plus many more ST goodies!!