PHF Rally 2 - Zero Bitplane

Sommarhack Awaits!

Say hello to a game without any pixels. What, a blank screen? No, everything is created with palette swaps, which is something I admit to not fully understanding. But the result is something quite unexpected and, if I'm honest, very cool. The screen is made using colourful blocks representing a winding road through forests, deserts, snow, night, etc. This style and transition remind me of Enduro on the Atari 2600.

PHF Rally II is obviously the (2024) sequel, and coded by Grazey (aka Phil Graham) of Psycho Hacking Force. This is a racer similar in concept to Spy Hunter, as we drive a "never-ending" road to Sommarhack in our Toyota Celica (I swapped that for my Ford Focus!!). Anyhow, the objective is to last as long as you can without crashing into the roadside. It's dead simple, but a ton of fun - and one I was actually quite good at (for once). The controls are easy; simply use the cursor keys to move left/right, and avoid crashing!

Running at 50fps, this is one slick racer zooming down your screen. It's fast-paced and probably too fast if it wasn't for the use of overscan. This means you can see a lot more of the road ahead, which compensates for the terrifying speeds! The result is perfectly balanced, making it both enjoyable and challenging.

You can play this on either computer, but (I thought) it looks best on the STe thanks to the superior palette. The use of overscan alongside this insane idea of zero bitplanes is what makes the ST scene so exciting and innovative, especially with the stunning chip music by gwEm (aka Gareth Morris).

PHF Rally II is superb and rated an engine-breaking 85%. Try to beat my high score if you can!

• Grab the download either from Demozoo or Atarimania.
• You should take a look at Psycho Hacking Force on Demozoo, an incredible archive!
• If you fancy playing the first Rally game, then click right here.
• If you have an Atari STe, then check out our list of other enhanced games.

Level one takes us through lush blocky woodland.

Oh no, winter appears from nowhere!

But we travel so far that we eventually reach the desert!

Who turned out the lights? Oh, is it nighttime already?

This is as far as I got, a rocky canyon (not far from Sommarhack?)

Can you beat me?