Fatal Racing
| Fatal Racing | |
|---|---|
| Studio | Gremlin Interactive |
| Publisher | Gremlin Interactive (Europe), Interplay (USA) |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1995 |
| platform | PC ( Windows , DOS ) |
| genre | Racing game |
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer ( LAN , split screen ) |
| control | keyboard |
| medium | 1 CD or two floppy disks |
| language | English, German, French |
Fatal Racing (USA title: Whiplash ) is a computer game from 1995, developed and distributed by Gremlin Interactive . In 1996 the game was published by Interplay in the USA under the name Whiplash . It's an action racing game with loops, corkscrews and jumps. You move at an unrealistic speed (up to 392 km / h) over the course without the feeling of speed being noticeably transferred to the player. On many routes, you can drive through tight bends at top speed without having to brake, which requires some practice, however. You only have to brake to service the car again in the pits (even then the game had a basic damage model ). The game is particularly captivating in multiplayer mode and with a cheeky AI .
Game characteristics
- The game consists of eight "normal" and eight "advanced" courses as well as eight bonus courses, which you only get if you drive the advanced championship with the opponent strength "Impossible" and win every course, or if you use cheats .
- There are eight different cars, each in a basic version and an improved one (16 pieces).
- You can drive three different championships.
- During a championship, points are awarded for the positions achieved, for destroyed enemy vehicles, and for the best lap time of the race
- In addition to the drivers' championship, there is always a team ranking
- With 16 cars you always drive in teams of two, with drivers from one team driving the same car
- In races with eight or more participants, all eight different car types are always on the track
- Other game modes are time trials and individual races
- There are up to 15 computer opponents as well as a multiplayer mode, whereby up to 16 people can compete against each other via network or modem
- In addition, the game also includes a split-screen mode, which allows two players to compete against each other on the same computer or to play the championships together
Ingame story
Each of the eight manufacturers of the different cars has two (with the bonus routes three) its own courses. The races of the championship of these rival car companies are held on these tracks. The names of these eight invented manufacturers are:
- Auto Ariel from France
- De Silva from Italy
- Pulse Engineering from Great Britain
- Global from the USA
- Million Plus from Japan
- Mission Motors from the USA
- Zizin from Japan
- Travel wagon from Germany
Each of the cars has special properties (weight, acceleration, grip, durability, maximum speed).
The individual AI teams also differ in their behavior during the race. While the Global team likes to push opponents off the racing line very aggressively in order to gain places, the DeSilva team tries to get bonus points by destroying burning cars. The Million Plus team likes to drive in the wrong direction to ram oncoming cars.
It is possible to give preprogrammed instructions to the teammate during the race. The keys "F5" to "F8" can be used for this. For example, it is possible to order your teammate to destroy enemy vehicles or to concentrate fully on the placement and therefore to go to the limit as much as possible.
cars
Auto Ariel Fouette 270zx :
- Country of origin: France
- Appearance: light green sports coupe with red front section
- Comparably powerful cars: Mission Motors, Zizin, Pulse Engineering
- Properties: average and very balanced properties, good handling
- Top speed: 260 mph
- from 0 to 100 km / h: 2.75 seconds
De Silva 511 GTi :
- Country of origin: Italy
- Appearance: yellow sports coupe with red rear and large, yellow rear spoiler
- Comparably strong cars: Million Plus
- Properties: best acceleration, lowest maximum speed, good handling, lowest weight, not very durable
- Top speed: 254 mph
- from 0 to 100 km / h: 1.72 seconds
Pulse Engineering Errant V8 GT :
- Country of origin: Great Britain
- Appearance: red sports coupe
- Comparably strong cars: Auto Ariel, Zizin, Global
- Properties: above-average top speed, swinging rear end in curves, otherwise average properties
- Top speed: 264 mph
- from 0 to 100 km / h: 3.11 seconds
Global Celerity MkII :
- Country of origin: USA
- Appearance: orange sports coupe with white bonnet and white stripes
- Comparably powerful cars: Pulse Engineering, Reise Wagon
- Features: high maximum speed, best durability, slow acceleration, moderate handling, high weight
- Top speed: 268 mph
- from 0 to 100 km / h: 3.17 seconds
Million Plus Ninjato :
- Country of origin: Japan
- Appearance: white sports coupe with light blue rear
- Comparably powerful cars: DeSilva, Mission Motors
- Properties: low top speed, slow acceleration, best handling, not very durable
- Top speed: 256 mph
- from 0 to 100 km / h: 3.36 seconds
Mission Motors Chimera Turbo SE :
- Country of origin: USA
- Appearance: light purple sports coupe with green stripes
- Comparably strong cars: Million Plus, Auto Ariel, Zizin
- Features: good acceleration, moderate top speed, very good handling, low weight
- Top speed: 256 mph
- from 0 to 100 km / h: 2.14 seconds
Zizin KLR 330 :
- Country of origin: Japan
- Appearance: white sports coupe with red and blue stripes
- Comparably strong cars: Mission Motors, Auto Ariel, Pulse Engineering
- Properties: average properties, the rear swings out a lot in curves
- Top speed: 262 mph
- from 0 to 100 km / h: 2.53 seconds
Trip Wagon Mercur GT :
- Country of origin: Germany
- Appearance: dark blue sports coupe with a large, dark blue rear spoiler
- Comparably strong cars: global
- Properties: enormous top speed, extremely poor acceleration, sluggish handling, very high weight, very long-lasting, weak brakes
- Top speed: 277 mph
- from 0 to 100 km / h: 4.58 seconds
Deathcar (cheat car)
- Country of origin: Unknown
- Appearance: Black with skull logos and red writing
- Comparably strong cars: none
- Features: best top speed, best acceleration, best handling, very high weight, very long durability, best braking
- Top speed: approx. 300 mph
- from 0 to 100 km / h: approx. 2.5 seconds
Note: Depending on the program version and choice ( km / h or Mp / H ), the maximum speeds of the individual vehicles are different. In the patched version, the cars drive faster.
Technology & play
The game originally ran under DOS , but could also be played under Windows 95 and Windows 98 . Like many old DOS games, it only runs to a limited extent under modern Windows versions from Windows XP . Although the game is relatively unknown and the graphics as well as the other game characteristics can no longer keep up with modern arcade racing games, the game contains modern approaches. For example, the multiplayer mode is extremely sophisticated for the conditions at the time (but with the IPX network protocol, which is hardly used today ).
As with all racing games, the aim of the game is to get through the finish line with the lowest possible placement. Depending on the degree of damage to the vehicles, driving behavior is impaired and mainly the maximum speed is reduced. In head-to-head races, the winner is usually the driver who maneuvers his vehicle through the course without damaging it and without braking; However, this is a very big challenge, especially with higher degrees of difficulty: large / high jumps, areas of two-way traffic, intersections or simply other race participants damage your own vehicle and thus reduce the top speed. In races with a high number of laps, some of which last over 30 minutes, a speed difference of 1 to 2 km / h may be decisive for the race. In addition, destroying opposing vehicles earns you points - a clever strategy of pit stops, switching off other vehicles and a good position in the race is therefore required.
In terms of its gameplay, Fatal Racing and Destruction Derby were one of the trailblazers for later games such as Carmageddon , Crashday or FlatOut .