Hi-Octane

The Good
I'll admit this outright: I've always loved Bullfrog. With the possible exception of Theme Park (and some will disagree with me on this), I could easily say that they have never had a bad game in their entire history. Starting with the amazing Syndicate, through its equally spectacular sequel Syndicate Wars, on to the little-known but technically astounding Tube, one of my personal favorites Theme Hospital and the outright amazing Dungeon Keeper... and those aren't even all. Anyone remember Populus?

Hi-Octane is a technically amazing game that doesn't take itself overly seriously. It's perfect for spending some quality time every now and then in front of your computer without thinking too hard or getting frustrated over stupid things. In short, for a gaming quickie, Hi-Octane is literally perfect.

Tenchincally the game is astounding: perfectly rendered landscapes (with the exception of the occasional clipping bug, but it's still a lot better than 99% 3D engines of the time), textures all over the place and gouraud shaded, beautifully modeled vehicles. And last but not least, sky-high framerates! On a Pentium 166, this baby will rock past ya at over 60 frames per second of high-explosive ammunition flying all over the place. Now that's a rush!

The sound engine is also very good, with fairly reasonable (for the time) positional audio that while does not sound perfectly realistic is still a great deal better than not being able to tell where sound is coming from. Level design is excellent and the levels provide for hours of continuous play. AI is mediocre, but doesn't suck altogether.

The Bad
I would like some better AI (the game is way too easy) and maybe some more levels, but overall this game literally has no flaws.

The Bottom Line
A great game for some time wasting! Play this against the computer or against the guy you just mopped the floor with in Doom, and have fun!

PS if you liked this game, try Rollcage - it's almost as fun, and looks a lot better.