Previous Next

Super Sprint-style games have been around since the inception of the Commodore 64, and issue 68 saw the arrival in the Zzap! pit-stop of another one. Based on the Tengen coin-op of yesteryear, Badlands takes the player to a Mad Max-style post apocalyptic world. A vast nuclear war has devastated the planet we know, and created a radioactive hell (i.e. the Zzap office after Phil opens his lunch box).

But motor racing is still a popular pastime with the remnants of humanity. Violent contests are held in a zone called the 'Badlands'. Cars are armed and armoured and losers don't walk away (they're often stretchered off). There are eight single-screen, plan-view tracks and one or two players can participate.

Each race is hotly contested by three cars (at least one computer-controlled), with four laps of the track needed to complete the current section.

The first couple of tracks are pretty straightforward, but they soon become very tortuous (slam on those anchors, buster). Added to the twisty route are other nasty surprises such as oil and water patches, death-defying jumps and spikes.

Also to be found scattered around are golden spanners - used to purchase missiles. tyres, turbos, speed and shields. The missiles are especially handy: they blow the frag out of other cars, so are best used when you're lagging behind.

When Badlands was first reviewed, the Zzap! team of the day were less than impressed: 41% is, in my opinion, too low a mark. I get the feeling that neither Stu, Rob, Phil or Wozza like Super Sprint-type games [Not true! - Phil] and this jaundiced their review.

I personally love racing games and found Badlands very playable. As with many games of this type, the car's initially frustrating to control. And this is what puts a lot of people off the genre, but a bit of patience pays great dividends.

On the graphics front, Badlands is slightly on the blocky side, but this is nothing to really gripe about. You either love or hate this game type, and I love it.