Motor Mania - Personal Computer News 11

Computer: Commodore 64
Price: £8.95 (Cassette)
Publisher: Audiogenic
Reviewer: Barry Miles
Rating: 5/5

Tracks Of My Tyres

The Commodore 64 is very strong on sound, high resolution graphics, and colour, and deserves to have programs written which exploit these qualities.

Arcade games are a natural choice and car driving games, in particular, are sufficiently testing to be a challenge while not being as frustrating as aircraft simulations, for example.

Objectives

Choosing one of nine levels of difficulty, you pilot your car around a track which includes motorway sections, ordinary roads and dirt track tests.

You will meet a number of hazards on the way, including slick patches and avalanches of boulders. In addition you have to pass other road users, and the local ambulance crosses your path.

In Play

Throughout the game there are realistic engine noises as you drive, and a constantly changing speedometer is just one of the dashboard instruments.

You also have to keep an eye on a gauge which tells you if you are driving too slowly to keep your battery charged, and a fuel gauge that warns you to call in at a garage.

Other hazards include logs in the road - hitting one will cause your engine to overheat, signified by a flashing light, followed by an oil warning light. If you fail to get to a garage in time, your engine stops dead.

Potholes will make your steering go haywire.

Each map section completed earns an extra thousand miles, and for clocking up 5,000 miles you get an extra car to add to the five you start off with.

If you still have four cars in the garage at this time, you score a massive 10,000 miles.

Verdict

The program is sufficiently absorbing for blase users (me) who generally take no interest in games to have a thoroughly good time.

Motor Mania is a first-class arcade game of absorbing interest, and requiring considerable skill to succeed.

It is a pity that it comes on cassette - although a cartridge would undoubtedly be more expensive - because this is a game likely to be in great demand in the home, and waiting for the cassette to load will prove frustrating.

Rating

Lasting Appeal 5/5
Playability 5/5
Use Of Machine 5/5
Overall Value 5/5