Previous Next

Rev that engine! Power drift round those corners! Outrun those cops and turbo past the opposition! You're in the Hot Rod Championships and there's two other Hot Rodders (three on the Amiga) vying for first place and the glory that goes with it - not to mention a kiss from Miss Hot Rod herself!

The races take place on fifteen different types of scrolling course with obstacles ranging from oil drums to police cars. Lucky for you then that you don't need to come first to get onto the next course. Don't lag too far behind though as the computer judge will push you back on screen, deducting 20 points of fuel in the process. Run out of fuel and your Hot Rod splutters to a halt along with any chance of qualifying for the next race. Gas can be picked up during the race and points too, there's even some rough terrain short cuts and tunnels you can go down to sneak past the others.

A shop waits at the end of each race where tyres (improve road grip), engines (better speed and acceleration), bumpers (stronger car body) and wing sections (boost road holding) can be bought for extortionate amounts of money. Pick the right hardware for your Rod or you'll be eating the others' dust. Your reputation, ego and your bimbo girlfriend's affection rests on you winning these races so get out there and burn rubber!

I had mixed expectations of how Hot Rod would turn out, even with veteran Compunetters Ash 'N Dave providing a quality programming touch to the C64 conversion. The final game is certainly a polished production with a neat attract mode, a great Maniacs Of Noise title track (up there with Turbo OutRun) and some nifty in-game tunes.

Other than the four-player facility (using a two-joystick interface) there's not a lot that is particularly impressive about Amiga Hot Rod, but the pace of it is slightly faster and the graphics have more of a cartoon feel about them.

Like Sonic Boom, the problem is in the original coin-op's gameplay, it's just not varied or interesting enough, looks nice though.

Erm... dare I say this looks just a tad like Super Sprint? Well it does, which is a bit strange since Activision have done both conversions. It also plays like Super Sprint, i.e. fairly playable in two-player mode but boring and repetitive on your own. Technically, the C64 conversion is the better one with a great attract mode and some typically brilliant Maniacs music.

The Amiga game features some tacky graphics (Miss Hot Rod looks like the back end of a bus!) and is also far too easy. Overall, it's not too hot.

Presentation 78% Neat attract mode with superlative Maniacs Of Noise title track. Heavy multi-load though and no continue-plays.

Graphics 72% Small but detailed cars. Colourful backdrops make up for the featureless tracks.

Sound 80% A good variety of Maniacs tunes and spot effects.

Hookability 76% Two-player element gives the game a competitive spirit from the start.

Lastability 63% Tracks aren't all that varied leaving only the different graphic backdrops to hold the attention. Solo games can get repetitive.

Overall 70% A well produced Super Sprint variant.

Presentation 63% Four-player otion is novel but there's no attract mode.

Graphics 52% Unadventurous use of colour for backdrops and dull track layouts.

Sound 55% Not one of Benn Dalglish's best title tunes. Not so hot FX either.

Hookability 68% The more players the more fun but there isn't a lot to the gameplay to start with. The limp 'difficulty' level makes it an easy game to get into...

Lastability 40% ...but too easy to continue with. Complete all fifteen courses and you're very unlikely to carry on.

Overall 51% Slow paced, repetitive racing action that was done far better in Super Sprint.