C&VG
1st February 1988Mean Streak
Burn it up on the Battletrack, the 23rd century equivalent of a motorway! But here it's almost legal to behave in a totally anti-social fashion.
In the 23rd century people travel using matter transport beams and roads are obsolete. But there are gangs of rebel bikers dedicated to keeping the old ways open - a bit like motorised Ramblers I guess.
But true to form they've turned their hobby into a competitive event - Rollerball on wheels. The survivor of the high speed dash around the m-way wins the ultimate bike - the 'Mean streak'.
Load up the game and you find yourself on the Battletrack, riding a heavily armed superbike. You have rockets, machine guns and oil to use against your fellow competitors. Extra ammo and oil can be picked up as you race.
Use the on-screen radar to pick up other riders and dodge about - avoiding their gunfire and ramming tactics.
Destroy opposing bikers and you win extra time - yup, each of the five levels puts you up against the clock. You can nudge other bikes in deadly obstacles - like walls. And you can jump your bike over rocks, holes in the road, water and oil slicks if you act fast enough.
Everything is controlled via the joystick - which makes steering and firing a bit tricky in tight situations, but is soon mastered after a couple of games.
To wipe out your opponents it's best to allow them to race past you and blast them with rockets or guns - I haven't quite mastered the use of oil slicks yet.
As you race along the diagonally scrolling track you'll come across ramps which can be driven over - and walls which must be dodged or blasted.
Mean Streak is a pretty playable game, with reasonable graphics and a neat driving soundtrack. In fact, the music was the think I liked most about the C64 version of the game.
Not a mega-game - but not a bad addition to your collection.