Lotus Turbo Challenge 2

aka: Lotus Turbo Challenge
Moby ID: 11715
Amiga Specs
Buy on Genesis
$12.95 used on eBay
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Description official description

This sequel to Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge is again a behind-the-car viewed racing game. The racing takes place in eight distinct circuits, with new surface and weather effects such as desert and snow. Later in the game, you must race through two-way motorways with oncoming traffic (incorporating civilian cars and trucks), and face tougher levels aided by speed and time boost pick-ups.

You are no longer racing directly against other cars or over laps; instead, racing is time-based as you have limited time to reach each checkpoint. Reaching each of these extends your time, and any remaining time is turned into bonus points if you successfully complete the track.

You have two cars at your disposal, which the game chooses automatically for each level. The Lotus Esprit from the original is joined by a Lotus Elan convertible, which is slower but has better grip, hence the loss of the word 'Esprit' from the title.

You can play through the set of tracks either in full-screen or (with another player) split-screen mode. On Amiga and ST the game allows you to link two machines, each of which can have two human players. If one player successfully completes one of the 8 courses, all players can continue onto the next one.

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Credits (Amiga version)

4 People

Programming by
Graphics by
Music by
Level Design

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 82% (based on 25 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 30 ratings with 2 reviews)

Simply not good enough.

The Good
The introduction musics are quite good.
It's challenging if you're into it.
I've liked being able to see the exact map at the end of my attempt with my score going up.
The graphic design is good, I agree with that even if on modern TV it would be hard to bear, but I can't help feeling annoyed that two thirds of the screen are useless. I feel it more in this game than others of the same type.

The Bad
I'm not a big fan of racing games, and I don't have a lot of those on Genesis, but for a more-or-less simulation game it is not so great at it. At first it looks like a one button game (if you play with the automatic gear, which you should), then I thought you had to handle the turns a specific way so you could "drift" a bit but no. You can and you should hard press left or right to simply turn.

The lack of hints makes this game longer than it has to be for the better or the worst. Basically you race against the decreasing timer to reach any checkpoint on your way and for what appears to be a simplistic game, it's rather unforgiving. Make a couple of mistakes and you're good to restart your console and play it all over again. But the biggest problem at the beginning is not to dodge the obstacles on your way... It's to avoid your opponents.

In a game that requires you to be at all-time full-speed, it's very annoying to face (or better to rear) an enemy that tries pretty hard to annoy you.

On a pure hardware side, I've found the EA cartridge's cover to be minimalist and unadorned. For an advertisement game they could have at least called a graphic designer. As I got the game in loose I didn't even know what it would be.

To put it simply: it's an oversimple gameplay in an unforgiving setting with a lack of sound design.

This is the real struggle point of this game that makes it quite forgettable. The game is quiet. Almost silent. And would have deserved some background music, especially when you hear the enjoyable tunes at the level introduction. Maybe it's the Sega console that doesn't handle it? After searching a bit it looks like no, it was produced that way. And don't tell me they couldn't take the time to add some more lines other than "Yee-haw".

The Bottom Line
Overall a decent game that would be better on arcade with some chiptunes.

I don't know if it's better on other versions or if my European console changed the gameplay so much it made it dull (doubt it). The game seems to have been well received but I don't see the appeal over one with so little replayability when you could play Road Rash or the later Street Racer for a funnier time.

But heh, the game didn't lie: it is a challenge and you can only pick a Lotus...

Genesis · by TJ7 (46) · 2022

The best of a stalwert racing series

The Good
The course designs were superb. Challenging to learn, varied, visually distinctive, and all with a great feel for the surface in question. The Snow level was especially stunning to look at, and the Motorway added the unusual feature of cars going in both directions to avoid, and trucks to duck under for extra points.

Detailed analysis of the racing physics showed much more realistic handling than most action games, with the corner steering working nicely.

Having a four-player serial linkup option was fantastic. If you've got 3 friends, a spare Amiga and a linkup cable, you were in for some fun.

By not specifically making the game realistic or fantasy, they've combined great ideas from both. The time bonuses and speed-ups on the last 2 levels were a help, and the fact that minor crashes don't do serious damage makes things more forgiving.

The Bad
The lack of music was a shame, although the sound effects were much improved from the original.

Unlike racing games where you compete directly against other cars, there is little incentive to play through it again once you've finished, a problem exacerbated by the passwords which make it easier to complete. That said, the challenge of doing it all in one sitting will keep you keen.

The Bottom Line
An Outrun-style arcade racer featuring sprite based graphics and a third-person perspective. There were 8 distinct levels to complete, in different setting such as Forest, Desert and Marsh, each made up of between 5 and 8 stages. For each stage you are running against the clock, with more time awarded at each checkpoint. There are passwords for each level, and a four-player linkup option.

Amiga · by Martin Smith (81669) · 2004

Trivia

Copy protection

As well as having a copy-proof disk and a code-lookup manual routine, the game appears to feature a third method of protection, bordering on the subliminal. Listen very carefully on the aforementioned manual request screen on the Amiga version, and you'll hear a faint whisper ''Do not copy this game".

Awards

  • Amiga Joker
    • Issue 02/1993 – #3 Best Sports Game of 1992 (Readers' Vote)

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  • MobyGames ID: 11715
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

Genesis added by Corn Popper. Atari ST, Acorn 32-bit added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Terok Nor, Martin Smith, Patrick Bregger.

Game added January 29, 2004. Last modified March 1, 2024.