Lotus Turbo Challenge 2

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.