C&VG


Ivan Stewart's Off Road Racing
By Virgin Games
Spectrum 48K/128K

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #107

Ivan Stewart's Off Road Racing

Three... Two... One... And they're off! Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's truck has the pole position, but on the Super Off Road Racer tracks absolutely anything can happen! The 4x4 vehicles are certainly being put through their paces on these dirt tracks and the stakes are high. For the winner there's fame, glory and a juicy cash prize. For the loser things aren't quite so inviting - it's back to the drawing board in Skid Mark Alley, and worst of all, the loss of a credit.

As the Off Road season progresses, the opposition get tougher and tougher to beat. To keep up with their speeding trucks, you're going to have to become a regular customer at the Speed Shop, buying new tyres, engines and nitro boosters.

But it takes skill as well as equipment to complete these unforgiving Off Road courses. Mud holes, pools and even the terrain itself are all there to slow you down, and only the fittest drivers will survive!

There's plenty of thrills and far too many spills on the Off Road circuit. Witness the mid-air collision between two trucks as they both nitro-boost across the mud pool crossroads! Thrill as all four vehicles try to squeeze through a gap intended for one! Laugh as one complete pillock starts driving around the track in the wrong direction! It's excitement all the way in this kind of race, and it could be you in that truck facing the mighty 'Ironman' himself!

Atari ST

Apart from slightly inferior sonics, Off-Road Racer is identical to the Amiga version. Check it out, as soon as it hits the shelves!

C64

Slightly blocky graphics, but the three player mode has been retained and all the thrills of the 16-bit version are there for the taking. This ranks as one of the best C64 games we've seen in a very long time.

Amstrad

If you're sick of blocky Amstrad graphics, then have no fear! This version of the game has fine hi-res visuals, decent sound and all the fun of the arcade to boot! Needless to say, this comes highly recommended.

PC

Even running on a 8MHz machine, Off-Road Racer gives the ST version a run for its money! This probably ranks as the best coin-op conversion available on the PC. Indistinguishable from the Amiga game in VGA mode.

Spectrum

Loads of colour on all the tracks with the minimum of attribute clash makes Spectrum Off Road Racer a bit of a looker. Like all the 8-bit versions, everything has been crammed into a single load, and even though only two players can participate, this still ranks as a great Speccy release.

Amiga

Following up the best coin-op conversion of the year seemed like quite a tall order, but the Graftgold lads have not disappointed us one little bit!

Just like Rainbow Islands, Off Road Racer is virtually identical to the arcade, with all 416 (count 'em) frames of truck animation included!

The sound too has been faithfully reproduced, and all those national anthems and in-game tunes have never sounded better. Actually completing all the events across the eight stadia is no mean feat - the opposition (including Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart himself!) certainly know how to handle their vehicles, and you're going to need all the dosh you can lay your hands on to pay for the custom modifications to your truck.

Off Road Racer's main attraction in the arcades was the simultaneous three-player action, and even this feature has made its way into the conversion! If you've been lamenting the lack of Super Sprint type games on the Amiga, lament no more. Off Road Racer is simply the best and will be for a long while yet!

Richard Leadbetter

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