Great gameplay, gorgeous graphics

By Peter Eley

Powerslide (****)

(Ratbag)

PC $99.95

G


In this age of cloning, would it be possible to splice Mad Max's genes with some from Michael Schumacher? The result could well be the sort of character needed to race a Powerslide car.

This game takes accurate racecar modelling and handling physics and sets them in the apocalyptic early part of the 21st century - that starts next year, folks.

By this time, Earth is stuffed. The ozone layer has been destroyed and the few remaining millions live underground in cities controlled by mega corporations.

But up on top there are bands of renegades, billions of abandoned cars and not much else to do apart from joyride around the wastelands.

This lawless bunch slaps together machines with awesome grunt and become known as Powersliders because of their inability to turn without using the handbrake.

Great fun, and the authorities down below notice. Bored by their subterranean existence, they send their own teams to take on the Powersliders.

That's the story, and the graphics and gameplay reflect it more than in many games.

The wasteland tracks are bleak, and you feel a real sense of a dying planet as you pump out even more greenhouse.

An early version of Powerslide caused a stir at an industry expo back in 1997 with its amazing graphics.

Ratbag has devised a software engine that can run the game at 60 frames and 300,000 polygons a second on high-end systems.

Remember that 17 frames a second is considered acceptable for games such as Quake 2.

Okay, so it's graphically gorgeous, but what about the gameplay?

The racing simulation is good and the car physics seem lifelike. I've never driven a 5-litre turbocharged V12 dune buggy but I suspect it would flip if I tried a 90 deg handbrake turn at 200 km/h - just as it did in the game.

Powerslide has a range of difficulty settings and the Easy level isn't too challenging, but it's a steep curve to Advanced and Expert. The toughest setting - Insane - is just that and if you don't boast Mad Max or Michael Schumacher in your bloodline, forget it.

If the racing can get tough, the set-up process is a breeze. It installs easily, and has simple, easy-to-follow customisation menus.

Although it has a Mad Max feel, Powerslide is rated G, probably because there the only violence is done to tyres.

A word about the technical requirements. Ratbag lists the minimum requirements as a Pentium 133 with 16mb ram. But the recommended requirements are much higher - the same chip but with 32mb ram, a 3Dfx card, a 3D soundcard, and a force feedback device.

And you probably need a system nearer that if this game is to stand out in a crowded racing market.

I ran it on a Pentium II 266 with 64mb ram and a fairly modest 4mb AGP 3D accelerator and was suitably impressed.


* Send your comments e-mail peter_eley@herald.co.nz