### 'Racer' by Thadoss of Dune. After the success of his 'Beats of Rage' beat em up, a big bold console style game brought to life on a standard Falcon 030, we were gratified with a new release at Sillyventure 2013. This was no less than 'Racer', a game which is doing what it says in the title. And on the tin. If games come in tins? Actually, I had a limited edition version of 'Vaxine' which came in a movie reel style tin. Wonder what happened to that? Fell down a memory hole, of which there are many these days. But I digress! Thadoss opted for the same bright and bold console style presentation. So we get attractively drawn menus with lots of options. Some graphics are adapted and reused. This is duly noted in the informative read me text. Swiftly clicking through the menus to get to the game itself, the gameplay is a classic Pole Position or Outrun, 'behind the car' viewpoint. You point the car in the general direction of 'forwards' to complete a circuit in the limited time available, and ultimately the race. You must avoid colliding with other cars and copious trackside obstacles. These have an unfortunate effect on your progress and times. The game sprites are nicely large, the car sprites could use a little bit more work to make them feel more part of the track, but this is being worked on. The track surface is interestingly textured and convincingly undulating. There is an occasionally appearing 'far horizon' which helpfully adds to the illusion of depth and distance. The game is nicely paced, very smooth indeed and with no feeling of lag or sluggishness at any point. This aspect of the game is a definite big win for Thadoss. Don't forget this is being produced on a standard four meg Falcon 030, a machine not normally noted for epic feats of speediness in games, unless programmed very cunningly! Rather handily, this game can also run on more powerful flavours of Falcon and is happy with Hatari too. The soundtracks are perfectly pitched for the various circuits. These have been obtained from elsewhere and credited. As well as the pure racing aspect, some bonuses can be picked up en route. These are for various speed ups, timer assistance widgets and opponent disabling features. You don't have to do anything apart from run into them for the most part. Some may need triggering. There is at least one booby prize where your left and right controls are reversed for a short time. There is currently a choice of four tracks: The Circuit - This is the most conventional racing experience. It's you and seven cars in a rural setting. This is a proper Reekin' Rubber or Pole Position styled race. The Casino - You are in 87 year old befuddled driver mode and heading the wrong way against the flow of traffic. What is it with these modern motorways and their head on collisions?! The track texturing is really wild and the backgrounds are like something out of a bad acid reflux dream all about gambling. The other thing that I notice is, when you crash into other oncoming cars, their front ends all tend to be a bit angry looking! The Dark Castle - This baby is horror themed, with a hellish landscape, ghoulish track textures and chilling music! This one is my other favourite, apart from the first circuit. All other action is pretty conventional, no bloodied hands reach from under the track to grab you, as far as I am aware? Africa - Considered by the author as the most Outrun-like of the races. It's not too far removed from the first one, with more sand and palm trees. It seems to offer the longest and most challenging race as well. For people with different flavours of Falcon, there is a choice of executables. On the one hand, with use made of the DSP for that classic Falcon experience, or a pure 68030 version without for accelerated hardware and Hatari. This is a preview with more promised and still to come. There is supposedly a 1.1 version with better drawn and animated sprites and menus, more circuits etc, but things have gone quiet. Are we to get a final version in time for this year, or has Thadoss got something new for us? Either way, it's going to be blummin' great! Ratings:- Graphics:- 82% - Bright, bold and cheerful, maybe need a little bit of extra finessing, but very distinctive. Sounds:- 80% - Borrowed but appropriate soundtracks go well with the circuits. Playability:- 90% - A smooth and convincing racer indeed. Overall:- 85% - A very worthwhile racing game for a standard Falcon. CiH - November 2014. Back to the Index.