MegaRace 2

The Good
Lance Boyle (aka. Christian Erickson) is back in the sequel to the first, great game. This was released three years on, and, just as the first game was groundbreaking and impressive, the second game is similarly impressive for its time. It is a sequel that has advanced the technology and gameplay of its predecessor, while retaining nearly everything that made Megarace great. The cars are now made up of 3D polygonal graphics, instead of the rendered sprites of the first game, and look wonderful. You also have much more control over your car and it feels a lot more like a real 'racer', even though the track is still pre-rendered.

The gameplay has been completely overhauled, but the decisions made work really well. The biggest change affects the whole focus of the game. In Megarace, the idea was to work your way through a series of gang members, destroying each car until you got to the leader. Destroy that car, and you win. In Megarace 2, it's a proper race, and you are properly competing against a whole bunch of other cars. You have to try and win. Destroying them is still possible, still useful and still actively encouraged, but is no longer compulsory. Being one of the first 3 to cross the finish line is what matters here. And, thus, the days of only ever seeing one other car on screen at a time are gone. Now you're bumping and knocking around with a racing pack. This is much more exciting.

Also, instead of just racing once round a track, you have to race three times on each track. You have to finish as one of the top 3 competitors in the first two rounds, then you have to win the third round. On each round, the number of competitors is whittled down. Eight cars on the first round. Seven on the second round. Just four cars left on the third round. This system works well. There are also championship tables and all the other stuff you need to make this a proper, competitive racing affair.

Lance Boyle's video clips, as ever, are one of the main attractions. This time they are hi-res, full motion (before, they were just him filmed against a blue screen, with a static rendered background added in later) and feature his new assistant. The clips are very funny and always act as a wonderful incentive to carry on playing (although the gameplay itself is good enough!), but I couldn't help feeling that things were just that bit funnier in the first game.

Other enhancements include the ability to go backwards on the tracks - Not really necessary, but just one more example of the much improved gameplay on offer here. As the tracks are pre-rendered and spool forwards, when you go backwards, you drive through a series of Alone In The Dark style static camera views. But this is fine, especially for a really unnecessary added value feature! If you really screw up a race, just lie in wait for other cars and then crash into them when they try to lap you! Ha ha ha! Another bonus feature allows you to record and play back any moments of glory. It's a bit hard hitting the key and doing this in the middle of a race, but it's a nice little feature to have around. The one clip I recorded showed me getting bored, turning around, getting hit by another car, then skidding off down the track with my car facing the wrong way before smacking into a barrier. Fun!

Graphics and music, as before, are excellent. Although the graphics are even better this time, of course! Oh yeah, and it runs at high speed on a 486!

The Bad
There's not much to dislike about this fine racing game. It was great to have ol' Lane Boyle hosting it again, but, like I said, I think he was just a little funnier in the first game, overall. This is still a laugh-fest, though.

Controlling your car can be difficult, at first. I started off the game and lost so badly that I thought I'd never be able to play it. It is also, as another reviewer stated, strangely difficult to keep the car going straight. But you'll soon get the hang of the controls. Lots of games (even lots of the best games) have these teething troubles, particularly when it comes to controlling the damn things.

For some reason, the game kept forgetting my key setup, so I had to reset it everytime I loaded the game. But with only a few keys required, this was no big deal. A minor bug.

Prizes are also a bit disappointing in this game. They're 'useful', whereas before they were completely useless, but very funny and kooky. Now you get stuff you can use, like missiles and mines...maybe even a new car, if you're extra lucky. Yawn! I would've actually preferred some more comedic stuff.

Hmm...Well...I can't think of anything else to complain about.

The Bottom Line
Megarace 2 takes a giant leap ahead of its predecessor. Megarace 1 was much better than nearly all of the 'on-rails' type games, but couldn't quite compete, in gameplay terms, with 'proper' races. Megarace 2 can compete happily with other 'racers', while retaining its own unique slant and style. A very good game, even if you didn't like Megarace (Oh yeah, Lance Boyle haters can even turn off his video antics in this game...Although I still you're crazy if you'd want to do that!) Megarace 3, where are you? (It's been delayed, I think.)