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GREAT
AMERICAN CROSS COUNTRY ROAD RACE
Activision,
£9.99 cass, £19.99
disk, joystick
only
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Likened more to a comedy film such as The Cannonball
Run than a simulation, this game features a load
of total idiots taking part in a race across the States.
You can choose from three races (LA to New York, Seattle
to Miami or San Francisco to Washington) and then try
to get from one to the other, using the fastest possible
route. There is a fourth option which requires you to
drive through every city marked on the US map, and that
needs a hell of a lot of planning!
Once
you start racing, it suddenly strikes you that the race
doesn't just involve passing all the cars in the competition,
but also avoiding Police radar traps and adverse weather
conditions.
Each
race involves passing through several cities, and these
form sections of the race. There is a city-to-city time
limit allowed and failure to comply with it disqualifies
you from tackling the next section. When you complete
a section then your current position in the race is
shown and you automatically go through to the next one
with extra time added to your current total.
As
everyone knows cars tend to eat fuel when zooming along,
and the one in this game is no exception. There are
fuel pumps at 100-mile intervals, but if your fuel runs
out then you are forced to push the vehicle to the next
station by pressing the fire button rapidly. When this
happens you waste valuable time since you can only reach
a speed of 40mph -- know anyone who can push a car at
that speed!?
The roads are busy with cars, lorries and bikes -- hit
any of them and you are slowed right down, causing a
time delay.
A
really novel feature of this game is realistic use of
the gears. The fire button acts as an accelerator/clutch
and gears are increased or decreased by pushing or pulling
the joystick. Gear changes aren't that easy, as you
must first build up enough revs to allow the gear change.
Gauging the gears correctly for optimum acceleration
is vital; over-rev the engine and it might blow, making
you push it to the next garage.
TGACCRR
isn't much to look at but offers some really challenging
and addictive racing, and with the load/save option
on the highscore table, it's definitely one of the top
three race games.
Graphics
81%
Sound 51%
Feel 83%
Lastability 80%
Overall 81%
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