80's OVERDRIVE

I want this game to be better than it is. Controls okay, music isn't bad, plenty of races and you can grind for upgrades and buy new cars(though cars top out at 221 MPH, so I bought the Intruder Turbo, upgraded, and won most of the races with said.) The eye-popping presentation is where this game shines. It looks like the apotheosis of late 80's/ early 90's arcade sprite-based racers. Bursting with brilliant colors and a sense of speed. Great! So, what went wrong? Some of the races will truly test your determination, as you can reel off three or four easy wins, then be stymied by a narrow beach or "ruined city" stage with motorists on a mission to push you from the anemic lanes on turns. Cops don't help, either. As soon as you pass one, the lights go on and you most get around them passing you up and braking to screw you up. You can be busted if you crash at the wrong time, and you REALLY don't need the help. Speaking of crashing, you have fuel and repair bills(if you get bumped, and oh, you will)that eat into your winnings, along with every race having an entrance fee, making it imperative you restart any race you do poorly in, as you lose your entrance fee and any expended fuel and body damage will stay with your resignation. Other racers never trigger police(though they can be screwed up by them, though the psychotic random motorists more often gave me a helping hand)and seem to suffer no penalty for bumper-humping you into other cars and off of the road. If you blow a turn, just restart; saves time losing. Every car can be upgraded with Nitro, which allows for two uses per race and costs nothing to refill after the race(automatically restored after every race), and saving a boost for the last stretch is a good idea, especially on the last few courses. The radar upgrade feels worthless, as you'll see cops and you must push your advantage and pass as soon as possible, or the other racers will pit you and pass you. Yes, you can spend money on upgrades or repairs and not have enough for any races entrance fees, wherein a couple of drivers will let you "wash" their cars for a tiny sum(can't even really call this a mini game, just a punishment for not eyeballing the numbers well enough.) There are sporadic side missions that you can accept or decline for extra cash, though if they asked me to lose or ram another racer, I passed, as winning all races as quickly as possible was imperative to me. You eventually become sharpened by the unforgiving nature of some high traffic courses and get lean behind the wheel, though the last battle certainly makes you question if it was worth it. The very last special race is where the games art design turns on it and you. The stage will cause retinal bleeding with the diabolical color palette. Eye strain is inevitable, and yet the race is tedious, as it is you against a supercar that is faster than yours and there are no cops or traffic to help you out. Just you watching a faster car skate away most of the race. Even with two turbo boosts, I couldn't do better than pulling alongside this Black Chocobo of a nemesis. Grinding out attempt after attempt in the dull format with the screen punching my looky orbs was instantly unappealing. Whatever award awaits, I can't be bothered to pour blood on this sacrificial altar. This game is almost not bad. Got it on sale for next to nothing and certainly don't regret that, though it simply cannot be recommended to any but the most dedicated nostalgia junkies or those who want to indulge a few frivolous races where sprites tell the tale.

This game is fun in a lot of ways, but it also has huge drawbacks that hold it back. I'm a huge fan of Horizon Chase Turbo (though I never played the original 90s console racers where this style originated), and I play arcade racers a lot—but this one feels different from all of them. The visuals and music are the best parts here. The soundtrack is great, and the graphics capture the feel of a true old-school console game. The gameplay, though... feels like everything depends on luck. If you hit an obstacle or get wrecked by a police car (which sometimes you can't do anything about), you can't recover your track position, period. The whole time, you aren't really racing, overtaking, or steering; you are just avoiding hazards. Then again, if you do get past everyone, no one will be able to overtake you back, even in your most basic car. That is, unless your luck runs out again. Thumbs up, but mostly for the music. It has one of the best synthwave track sets out there.

Bought it after I enjoyed Horizon Chase Turbo. I'd still recommend playing Horizon Chase because the controls are much better.

Let me say it straight up front: the game is not worth AU$15.00 This game sells itself as a throwback to the great racers of the 1980s, and graphically it does just that: bright, vibrant colours with two-tone roads and loads of different trackside objects, all of which give a feel of games like Chase HQ and Outrun. As for the sounds, there are a heap of late 80s/early 90s synth style tunes included. They're not my cup of tea personally, but I'm sure there are others they will appeal to. What I have a problem with is the gameplay. First, the speed it runs at is nowhere near as fast paced and exhilarating as it's made out to be. When I put it on and got up to full speed I thought "That's it?" IT'S SO SLOW, even after buying the best car or upgrading any of the other cars to the max it still runs as such a pedestrian looking speed it's not funny. The speedo says 357km/h, but the rate at which everything on screen approaches doesn't feel anything like that sort of speed. I said above the game looks like Chase HQ and Outrun, but it doesn't feel like anywhere near the breakneck, split-second reaction needing speeds both those two games run at. Hell, even the Commodore 64 conversions of Outrun and Powerdrift feel faster than this game! And the stages just seem to go on FOREVER, which, combined with the sheer ease of which most of the game can be completed, makes for a game which becomes very boring very quickly, even with the inclusion of occasional mission objectives to try and give some variation in gameplay. And even in the Time Trial mode, which is supposedly aping Outrun, the stages still go on FOREVER.... where in Outrun are there stages that last for FOUR MINUTES EACH? Stages in the arcade style mode need to be much, MUCH shorter. There are an assortment of different cars included, but it soon becomes apparent the differences are purely cosmetic as once they are upgraded completely they all run at the exact same top speed with no differences in handling, completely removing the need to buy them all except for those going for all achievements. I got this game for AU$1.50 (90% off) and to me that's about all this game is worth. At full price it's a complete rip off. It's as if the developer took one look at MY 1980's DASHBOARD (sadly no longer available), which was a cheap, simple throwback to the games of the early 80s style of game to while away some time with, and tried to base a complete game around it. If you haven't already, go check out Victory Heat Rally or Horizon Chase Turbo, which are both great late 80s/early 90s throwbacks and much better, FASTER and more challenging than this tosh.

A ideia e os gráficos são ótimos! Agora a gameplay deixa a desejar. No início da corrida se o carro que está na sua frente errar a largada e você acertar a largada, você vai bater nele, é impossível de desviar. Não tem opção de alterar os botões do controle, sim, pela Steam é possível, mas o jogo devia ter isso, coisa simples que até os jogos antigos tinham.

Chic, old-school racing like on the Sega Mega Drive. Great soundtrack, pixelated graphics and atmosphere. It's worth working hard to get to the end, and with the most recent opponent, you need to develop a good strategy. To relax after a hard day, recommend it.

80's OVERDRIVE pros: //fast game with modern day graphics with easy controls that moves from location A to B to C and so on //good amount of action and special effects cons: //a lot of difficult races //the game is at master difficulty level with no difficulty options to choose from //npc opponent's facial expressions pop-up and block the view of the road //your starting car is awful and requires a lot of grind to upgrade it //npc opponents uses over-excessive rubberbanding so that you can never really get ahead in the races //npc civilians and opponents will contact-block you off the track from any direction //npc civilians will contact-block you and help npc opponents to pass you //getting contact-blocked and sent off track by npc civilians, opponents and cops usually require restarting the race //npc cop chase-cars only target you and not any other npc opponents //some races have narrow tracks or not enough lanes //a lot of narrow tracks are crowded with npc civilians and cops that will block you and become hazards making the narrow track even more narrow //npc opponents can fly past the track-turn speed ceiling and pass you on track-turns even when you are ahead //game forces only you to slow down on track-turns or crash your car but npc opponents can fly through track-turns without slowing down //awful side missions with some difficult tasks //damage repair is somewhat expensive //a lot of long races that are too long //repetitive with too many races that are the same with with minor changes like making the same races longer //locked race events //unlocking race events are a grindfest //good game Personal Suggested Purchase Price: $0.99 Or Less During Sale extra notes: //you are an 80's street racer //win races and upgrade your car //many colorful and unique scenic races with soundtracks to choose from //once you had enough of the unfair game mechanics your game is over

It's like Outrun but it has good music and the Earth is flat and for some reason the mountains and cities move around???