Wacky Wheels

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Wacky Wheels
Studio Beavis Soft
Publisher Apogee software
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 17th October 1994
platform MS-DOS
genre Racing game
Game mode Single player , multiplayer
control Keyboard , joystick

Wacky Wheels is a computer game belonging to the racing game category by the British company Beavis Soft and published in 1994 by the publisher Apogee . The characters are animals, and karts are used on various racetracks. Since the game principle is strongly based on Super Mario Kart (1992) for the SNES , Wacky Wheels is considered a clone for the PC with the replacement of the Nintendo protagonists .

Game mechanics

While driving, you can throw hedgehogs to stop the opposing kart vehicles, or put certain gimmicks on the road, such as bombs and puddles of oil. There is also a special game mode in the game in which you have to kill wheeled ducks with hedgehogs in a certain period of time. It is also possible to drive against each other in multiplayer mode via split screen , null modem cable or modem , or to switch off with hedgehogs on special routes, the so-called "shootout zones".

The game shines with animations that are lovingly detailed for its time. For example, two animals greet each other when they meet on their karts, or the kart turns into a submarine in the water, of which only the periscope can be seen. The Dopefish , legendary in this era , also appears in the game.

The graphics engine itself, on the other hand, was kept very simple back then, but the game also runs on PCs of the 386 class.

The game can only be played under MS-DOS or under operating systems that support an MS-DOS mode, for example Windows 95 or Windows 98 , or that emulate the mode , such as DOSBox under Windows XP . It runs in the then usual VGA mode with 320 × 200 pixels. The most important sound card standards of the DOS era are supported.

Development history

The developers Andy Edwardson and Shaun Gadalla were inspired by Super Mario Kart and wanted to offer a similar experience for the PC . They developed at that time also some smaller things for the Belgian publisher Copy Soft, which they planted at the Leisure Game Wacky Wheels presented and a demo version including the C ++ - source code left. However, an agreement was finally reached with Apogee to finance the project. However, just before the release of Wacky Wheels, Copysoft released a similar game called Skunny Kart . Edwardson and Gadalla therefore accused Copysoft of copyright infringement.

Versions

The game was available in three versions:

  • Shareware : four drivers selectable, a racing series (bronze) with five routes selectable, two shootout zones selectable, a hidden bonus route (five victories in the highest level of difficulty required) - freely copiable
  • Standard : all eight drivers, all three racing series (bronze, silver, gold), all five shootout zones can be selected
  • Deluxe : eight drivers, three racing series, three complete bonus racing series, five shootout zones, five bonus shootout zones

In Germany, the commercial English standard and deluxe versions were sold by CDV .

legacy

In 2014 it was announced that "Cascadia Games" had acquired the rights to Wacky Wheels from Apogee and is working on a remake . First screenshots and gameplay videos are available on the manufacturer's website.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Section 2.8.9: Wacky Wheels. In: The Apogee FAQ. Retrieved October 6, 2019 .
  2. ↑ wackywheelsracing.com/ (2015, English)

Web links