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80'S OVERDRIVE (PC)
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Publisher: Insane Code.
Developer: Insane Code. Released: November 2020. Genre: Racing. Other versions: SWI; 3DS. Posted 27th February 2022. By Tom Clare © 2022 |
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To paraphrase the great music mockumentary This is Spinal Tap: how much more eighties could 80’s Overdrive be? The answer is none. None-more eighties. For a game that wears its retro influences so enthusiastically on its sleeve, however, this can be forgiven. It’s not the kind of game you’d take a punt on without harbouring nostalgia for the days of lightning-fast, coin-gobbling checkpoint racers.
80’s Overdrive melds the scenery-hopping joyride shtick so iconic of Outrun with the competitive racing and traffic dodging antics of Gremlin’s various Lotus and Top Gear entries. Polish developer Insane Code has done a sterling job of capturing the zeitgeist of the games they were inspired by and whilst a little more variety wouldn’t have gone amiss, old-school racer aficionados are sure to get a rush out of this one.
The side-to-side screenwipe is a new take on Outrun's classic scene transition
In comparison to Horizon Chase Turbo, the current benchmark for retro-inspired racers, 80’s Overdrive holds up pretty well. It delivers a similarly breathtaking sense of speed, nicely-weighted handling and sumptuous presentation. That said, the overall design is a little less robust. It perhaps would have benefited from some more involved course layouts, which come across as a little less complex and challenging. You can count on one hand the number of times the brakes are needed and whilst routes are blisteringly fast and fun, you’ll more likely remember them for their artistic design than their technical layouts. Sadly, there are no weather effects or scene-specific hazards, which would have added a bit of variety.
Visually, it’s the backdrops that stand out. You’ll blitz through forests, high-tech industrial cities, beaches lined with palm trees. All very familiar settings for this kind of racer, but the lack of originality shouldn’t detract from the fact the artwork shines with beautiful clarity and colour. Large, 2D scenic sprite detail flies past with incredible rapidity and smoothness, helping conjure a convincing sense of speed. It’s a treat to behold.
Visually, it’s the backdrops that stand out. You’ll blitz through forests, high-tech industrial cities, beaches lined with palm trees. All very familiar settings for this kind of racer, but the lack of originality shouldn’t detract from the fact the artwork shines with beautiful clarity and colour. Large, 2D scenic sprite detail flies past with incredible rapidity and smoothness, helping conjure a convincing sense of speed. It’s a treat to behold.
FOCAL POINT: ONE LAST BLAST FROM THE PAST
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Win Race 36 and you can call yourself the champion of the roads, having beaten all competition. Well... nearly all competition. Very much in keeping with arcade speed demons of the past (Super Monaco GP and Ridge Racer spring to mind), you’re challenged to a one-versus-one race. What awaits is a lengthy but fast course with a violet and turquoise, two-tone colour scheme that’s a mad mix of Miami Vice and Tron. You’ll need to employ your meanest blocking tactics to beat the tricky opponent. Win though and your prize is the fastest car in the game: the dubiously named Penetrator 8080. Better still, your beaten foe removes the erroneous apostrophe from the game’s title, rectifying it to correctly read 80s Overdrive. No one else will care, but this pleased me no end.
The main crux of the 80’s Overdrive experience is a 36-race career, a decent-sized campaign that’s long enough to keep the player occupied for a few days. Races vary in terms of length, the volume of traffic and recognised racer opposition, as well as the frequency of police chases. This mode offers a persistent challenge with a well-judged difficulty curve. One aspect that doesn’t fit quite as comfortably, though, is the monetary system. On the one hand, it’s fun to upgrade basic models into ever more potent racing machines. On the other, this process rather homogenises the cars’ performance characteristics, meaning there’s little variety in the driving experience.
The entry fee required to enter races proves an unnecessary impediment. Spend too much on upgrades and you’ll end up partaking in a humorous car wash mini-game, scrubbing your opponents’ rides for some cash. The problem is, once you’ve done this, you’ll likely have to revisit the early races to once again afford entry to those further along. Costs for refuelling and repairing your motor also add a bit of admin that doesn’t match with the spirit of the game.
The entry fee required to enter races proves an unnecessary impediment. Spend too much on upgrades and you’ll end up partaking in a humorous car wash mini-game, scrubbing your opponents’ rides for some cash. The problem is, once you’ve done this, you’ll likely have to revisit the early races to once again afford entry to those further along. Costs for refuelling and repairing your motor also add a bit of admin that doesn’t match with the spirit of the game.
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Then there’s the traffic. Firstly, civilian road-goers drive too quickly. When you’re pushing 220mph, it’s strange to glide up to a camper van as if they’re doing 200mph themselves. Similarly, you’ve reason to be a little skittish as non-racers have a frustrating habit of abruptly and sharply changing lanes as you approach them. The police at least make for a positive element, nothing too extreme, but you’ve got to be careful where you’re driving when the cops try to pull you over.
The Time Trial mode offers classic, battle against the clock action and delivers the Outrun-esque location transition to good effect. Taken at face value, it’s a lot of fun. The trouble is, stages become excessively long as you progress. Disappointingly, it doesn’t appear to have an end. I kept going, expecting a finish line, but ran out of time having cleared 20 stages, in a gruelling run that lasted more than an hour and twenty minutes.
The Time Trial mode offers classic, battle against the clock action and delivers the Outrun-esque location transition to good effect. Taken at face value, it’s a lot of fun. The trouble is, stages become excessively long as you progress. Disappointingly, it doesn’t appear to have an end. I kept going, expecting a finish line, but ran out of time having cleared 20 stages, in a gruelling run that lasted more than an hour and twenty minutes.
36 races makes for a relatively decent chunk of lifespan. Time Trial is a blast, as even though individual stages do go on a little too long, this mode captures the coin-op vibe whilst rewarding those brave enough to skim past traffic with time bonuses. What’s missing though? Most evidently, the lack of a split-screen two-player mode. This is disappointing, especially when you consider that Horizon Chase Turbo boasts top-notch four-player local multiplayer. Between everything, I clocked eight of hours of play time, a respectable tally for a game priced at £8.99.
There are stronger arcade racer throwbacks on the market vying for your money, but it’s still a heck of a lot of fun. 80’s Overdrive suffers a couple of minor gameplay foibles and would have benefited from a little more gameplay variety, but it nails the visuals and the audio. A two-player mode would have been a bonus, but for less than £10, it’s well worth a look.
There are stronger arcade racer throwbacks on the market vying for your money, but it’s still a heck of a lot of fun. 80’s Overdrive suffers a couple of minor gameplay foibles and would have benefited from a little more gameplay variety, but it nails the visuals and the audio. A two-player mode would have been a bonus, but for less than £10, it’s well worth a look.
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VERDICT
"There are stronger arcade racer throwbacks, but it’s still a heck of a lot of fun. A two-player mode and a little more driving variety would have helped, but 80's Overdrive is good value for less than £10." OVERALL: 7/10 |