Amiga Power


4 Wheel Drive
By Gremlin
Amiga 500

 
Published in Amiga Power #10

4 Wheel Drive

Compilations, eh? I mean, just what is the point? Probably to provide you, Joe Public, with the chance to scoop up some presently un-owned games on the cheap whilst Joe Software Company rake in a bit of extra cash on the side.

Joe Software Company, in this case, has surreptitiously slipped four of its best driving sims in a 190 x 235 x 35mm cardboard box under the dubious title of 4 Wheel Drive in a bid for an extra bob or two. First up is Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge which, it has to be said, isn't really that far behind its famous sequel. It still features the same split-screen two player option, the graphics are equally smooth and the same still as instantly playable as ever. The most noticeable differences between this and the later game lie in the less varied tracks and the one player mode which fruitlessly fills half the screen only. Still, it's good stuff.

The rest of the compilation is far less tempting. Toyota Celica GT Rally gives a Test Drive-style in-car view with the computer shrieking "Left" and "Right" at appropriate moments for added realism. As with most "in-car" games though, the end result is a little too jerky and the controls a little too unrealistic for most people's comfort.

Team Suzuki is the Indy 500 of the motorcycle world, with enough tweakable options, enough speed and enough true-to-life tracks to theoretically keep you hooked for ages. Provided, that is, you could ever get used to the controls, used to the spinning scenery, and used to the fact that you have to turn ridiculously early into corners; three impediments that will take even theoretically ages-er to get used to. Still, great if you'd like a slightly frustrating challenge.

And then there's Combo Racer - an OutRun-style sidecar racing simulation. Uppers? Very very fast, lots of tracks, and a track editor. Downers? Boring graphics and crap sound. The corners are too sharp - usually veering right off the edge of the screen - and the two player mode where both players control the same sprite is hilariously impossible. Chronically average and dated.

That then, if your fill. Not particularly awe-inspiring, really.

The Bottom Line

One good, one OK but far too hard and two not very good driving games. To coin a phrase, not a particularly awe-inspiring compilation, really.

Rich Pelley

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