Off Road Challenge

Four-wheel fanatics will be happy to know that Midway is revving up a home version of its dirt-eating arcade hit.Off Road Challenge for the N64 offers a choice of four trucks on six tracks. Vehicles are rated for three characteristics: handling, power and weight. If you do well in Circuit mode, you can win the keys to four hidden chariots.The high-octane action takes place on three desert tracks, plus beach (Baja), snow (Pike's Peak) and swamp (Ol' South). Sideshows as you're driving include a train wreck in El Paso and alien spacecraft in (what else?) the Area 51 section of Vegas.Cash awards for winning races allow you to upgrade your chariot or buy Nitros, or turbo boosts. Road kill candidates include coyote and deer, but harvesting wildlife appears to have no affect on game play.The one-player mode zips along fairly smoothly, but in two-player mode a poky frame rate detracts from the illusion of speed. Off Road emphasizes arcade action over realistic physics, so don't be surprised when your chariot scampers up a sheer cliff without flipping over.Cutting corners on an easy course like Mojave doesn't slow you down much, but the 40-foot potholes perforating the muddy track in Ol' South will put a serious strain on your wheels. Novices can avoid excessive careening by choosing a heavyweight truck, especially on icy Pike's Peak. As with most race games, Off Road Challenge offers a choice of camera angles.

Source:

www.nintendo.com