|
|
|
SUPER RUNABOUT (DC)
|
a.k.a. Super Runabout: San Francisco.
Publisher: Virgin Interactive. Developer: Climax Entertainment. Released: December 2000 (Europe). Genre: Racing. Posted 16th October 2019. By Shane Battams © 2019 |
|
Super Runabout seems like a perfect fit for the Dreamcast. On the surface, the anarchic mission driving defined in two previous games fits in nicely alongside the likes of Crazy Taxi. But this San Francisco-set Runabout is a story of untapped potential. While the vehicular insanity associated with the series is still present, it fails to take advantage of the hardware, and feels too chaotic to control. While it can offer a good dose of brain-on-hold entertainment, the lack of meaningful extras results in a short-lived and shallow experience.
Two scenarios let players experience the madness of Super Runabout, one following a bumbling family and the other a small police force. Both sides contain mostly similar missions, which task you with either destroying certain vehicles, collecting items such as components for a hot dog, or driving to locations like a bat out of hell. A timer is in effect, stricter depending on your chosen difficulty, and you will also need to contend with avoiding wrecking your vehicle, as taking off a wheel or falling into the ocean will instantly fail a mission. Admittedly, the design can be quite tough, with faster vehicles in particular proving quite skittish to handle, but eight missions between each side seems to lend itself to a lengthy run.
Hurry: Mustard goes off VERY quickly in the Runabout universe
But this Runabout begins to go off course once you start driving. The main issue which sours the game is its physics, which border on insanity. Catching the tail end of your car on a building can result in your car completely spinning out, jumps may cause your vehicle to flip entirely and the floatiness of the cars can be detrimental. While this fits into the madcap tone of the game, it can be frustrating constantly spinning out after seemingly minor impacts. This can be compounded by enemy vehicles, who usually opt to drive into you head-on, further stymieing progress as there’s very little room to dodge. The slow performance of driving, due to a 30fps which runs at half the speed of Crazy Taxi, feels dated in comparison to other driving games.
Super Runabout also fails to take advantage of the Dreamcast hardware. The visuals, while competent, suffer from a flatness which leaves the game looking drab. The city is pretty big at least, with lots of traffic and civilians running around. There are around 25 vehicles, including sports cars, saloons, police squad cars, and even garbage cleaners and F1 models, though they don’t look very flattering. The sound is also uneven, with a lack of environmental effects during some crashes only adding to the floaty nature of driving. The music, consisting of a handful of country-esque tracks, feels fitting but becomes repetitious eventually. The cut-scenes are the low-point for both, with no voice acting and horrendous character models and animations.
Super Runabout also fails to take advantage of the Dreamcast hardware. The visuals, while competent, suffer from a flatness which leaves the game looking drab. The city is pretty big at least, with lots of traffic and civilians running around. There are around 25 vehicles, including sports cars, saloons, police squad cars, and even garbage cleaners and F1 models, though they don’t look very flattering. The sound is also uneven, with a lack of environmental effects during some crashes only adding to the floaty nature of driving. The music, consisting of a handful of country-esque tracks, feels fitting but becomes repetitious eventually. The cut-scenes are the low-point for both, with no voice acting and horrendous character models and animations.
|
|
While you can expect to spend several hours polishing off all 16 missions, there’s little in the way of extra content to help sustain play. There’s no split-screen multiplayer and no means to freely explore San Francisco. Emblems are a hidden unlockable, rewarding more of the game’s vehicles. These are dished out for mission completion, performing certain feats during specific missions and a handful of collectibles. While some of the wackier vehicles and extra missions are locked behind these, they aren’t enough to sustain interest.
Super Runabout offers a lot of destructible scenery, and a myriad of vehicles with which to wreak havoc
Still, provided players are willing to switch off their brains, there’s some anarchic fun to be had with Super Runabout. It’s easy to pick at the game’s flaws, but when the frustration dies down, the destructive environments and objects are gleefully fun to smash. Players are scored on this destruction, with dollars rewarded depending on how much damage you cause. It’s fairly extensive, allowing you to break through fences, smash up traffic and even jump through certain rooftops and into buildings, though weirdly, the walls remain intact. It’s not a game to be taken seriously, as one mission has you collecting ketchup and mustard for a party, but for those who can get behind the light-hearted mission objectives, there’s still some fun to be found.
So, recommending Super Runabout will boil down to one question: how much do you want to smash? Climax’s third effort is uneven, particularly when it comes to physics and visuals. The discerning gamer will find Crazy Taxi more fluid and longer-lasting, but if you are willing to overlook some flaws and foibles, there’s enough chaotic mission-driving to keep you entertained, if only for a short while.
So, recommending Super Runabout will boil down to one question: how much do you want to smash? Climax’s third effort is uneven, particularly when it comes to physics and visuals. The discerning gamer will find Crazy Taxi more fluid and longer-lasting, but if you are willing to overlook some flaws and foibles, there’s enough chaotic mission-driving to keep you entertained, if only for a short while.
|
|
VERDICT
"The discerning gamer will find Crazy Taxi more fluid and longer-lasting, but if you are willing to overlook some flaws and foibles, there's enough to keep you entertained for a short while" OVERALL: 5/10 |