Screamer
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Critic Reviews 83% add missing review
Joystick (French) (90 out of 93) (97%)
Dans la panoplie des softs indispensables à tout bonne ludothèque, Screamer tire facilement son épingle du jeu. C'est en effet la meilleure course de voitures réalisée à ce jour sur PC !!
Dec 1995 · DOSComputer and Video Games (CVG) (92 out of 100) (92%)
It's the gameplay that really shines through though, and from the moment you start to play i guarantee you'll be racing until you finally clench the championship. Breath-taking stuff.
Dec 1995 · DOSPC Multimedia & Entertainment (90 out of 100) (90%)
One of the fastest driving experiences on the PC today, Screamer has it all. From the turbo charged graphics to the awesome grip, acceleration, and arcade style handling. It delivers exhilarating gameplay at super sonic speeds through this precise real-time 3D textured-mapped environment.
Feb 13th, 1996 · DOS · read reviewComing Soon Magazine (90 out of 100) (90%)
Screamer is the second product developed by Graffiti, an Italian developer whose work for Iron Assault, their first release, hasn't been much of a great success. I was therefore quite speechless to see the same developer coming up with such a product only a few months later. Screamer to Iron Assault is what Doom was for Wolfenstein!
Jan 13th, 1996 · DOS · read reviewPC Joker (88 out of 100) (88%)
In der Summe sieht Bleifuß damit die Flagge um etliche Sekunden eher als Fatal Racing und steht in der WM-Tabelle der Arcade-Racer derzeit ganz oben. Wer vor dem PC-Cockpit hingegen nicht auf eine stattliche Anzahl von Optionen verzichten mag, ist beim zweiten Sieger aber dennoch recht gut aufgehoben. Als stärkstes Argument gegen Fatal Racing und für Bleißfuß könnte sich jedoch der Preis erweisen, denn die Virgin-Konstrukteure rücken ihr Prachtstück schon für 20 Mark weniger heraus – und wer es einmal gesehen hat, wird sich auch das Benzingeld für eine der ja gerade in diesem Genre recht starken 32-Bit-Konsolen sparen wollen. Zumindest vorläufig...
Nov 1995 · DOS · read reviewPC Games (Germany) (88 out of 100) (88%)
Ein Rennspiel von diesem Kaliber war seit langem überfällig: Bleifuß bietet die momentan schnellste und üppigste VGA-Grafik in diesem Genre und kommt in Sachen Spielspaß promineten Vorbildern wie Ridge Racer und Daytona USA sehr nahe. Von der Masse an Spielen dieser Art, die zur Zeit in den Handel kommen, hebt sich Virgins Einheizer wohltuend durch die bildschönen Strecken und die tadellose Steuerung ab.
Dec 1995 · DOSPelit (87 out of 100) (87%)
Screamerin suurin ongelma on lystin lyhyys. Ratoja on aivan liian vähän ja vastus on aivan liian helppo. Yksinpeli vesittyy alun huuman jälkeen satunnaiseksi huviajeluksi ja jäljelle jää vain moninpeli, ja sekin niille harvoille, jotka voivat ylipäätään pelata verkon kautta. Screamer on kuitenkin komea, riittävän yksinkertainen ja huiman pelattava autopeli.
Oct 1995 · DOS · read reviewPower Play (84 out of 100) (84%)
Selten hat mir Heizen so viel Spaß gemacht wie in „Bleifuß“. Die verschiedenen Flitzer sorgen für genug Abwechslung, der Championship-Modus erfreut sich eines genüßlich ansteigenden Schwierigkeitsgrades und auch die Steuerung macht keine Probleme. Optisch und akustisch präsentiert sich „Bleifuß“ äußerst genial – nach dem etwas schmuddeligen „Iron Assault“ hätten wir dies von den Italienern nicht erwartet. Einen kleinen Rüffel gibt’s für die wenigen Strecken und für die Tatsache, daß Ihr im Netz nicht gegen Computerspieler fahren könnt. Flitzwürste und solche, die es werden wollen, müssen den Renner unbedingt gaben, zumal Ihr den flotten Gesellen für nur 70 Mücken bekommt.
Dec 1995 · DOS · read reviewGood Old Days, The (staff reviews only) (5 out of 6) (83%)
I admit that it's far from perfect, but still (for me) this game offers everything a good racing game is all about: Lightning fast cars, very accessible, lots of fun and challenging enough, so you can play it year after year and still find something that tempts you to try one more race.
Nov 20th, 2012 · DOS · read reviewPC Player (Germany) (82 out of 100) (82%)
Die Idee, eine Meisterschaft über mehrere Ligen zu verteilen und dem Fahrer die Freude über den Aufstieg zu gönnen, ist ein erstklassiger Motivationsschub. Bleifuß ist alles andere als ein Strohfeuer: Die große Auswahl an Autos, die clever designten Strecken und vor allem das einmalige Gefühl für die Geschwindigkeit locken immer wieder an den Joystick. Zusätzliche Features wie Tuning, Wettereinflüsse oder ein besserer Mehrspieler-Modus hätten aber nicht geschadet.
Dec 1995 · DOSComputer Gaming World (CGW) ( ) (80%)
Playing SCREAMER is a gas, given its arcade limitations. Racing purists, of course, won't want to touch it with a 10-foot tailpipe, given its profound lack of real-world dynamics. About the only nod to realism is the ability to powerslide around particularly tight corners. But it isn't meant to be real. SCREAMER is pretty much a no-brainer, targeting little more than your gut instincts and need for speed. And I mean this in a positive way. Your console friends still aren't likely to be jealous, but at least now your PC can rev on the red line, almost with the best of 'em.
Mar 1996 · DOSScore (8 out of 10) (80%)
Screamer se hraje opravdu velmi dobře. Grafika, pokud pomineme její nehybnost v SVGA, je téměř dokonalá. I když se jedná o trochu odlišný druh hry, než v Need for Speed a ostatních hrách, myslím, že je svými kvalitami Screamer rozhodně předčí a měl by asi zaujmout první místo v žebříčku každého závodů chtivého hráče.
Dec 1995 · DOSHigh Score (4 out of 5) (80%)
Ingen biltok borde vara utan Screamer. Det är knappast ett realistiskt spel, men det är kul och häftigt.
Feb 1996 · DOSPC Hemma ( ) (80%)
Screamer är mycket bra. Faktiskt ett av de bästa bilspelen till PC, vilket inte vill säga lite. Jag rekommenderar alla fartälskare att ta sig en titt på den här skönheten.
Feb 1996 · DOSRetro Archives (16 out of 20) (80%)
Screamer, c'est un peu la réponse du PC à Ridge Racer et Daytona USA. Et le mieux, c'est que ça marche! Grâce à une conduite arcade parfaitement assumée et très bien maîtrisée et un contenu sensiblement plus généreux que celui de ses concurrents (six circuits, douze véhicules, plusieurs modes de jeu), le titre de Graffiti tient d'autant mieux la dragée haute à ses inspirateurs que la réalisation technique est également à la hauteur. On sent néanmoins plusieurs erreurs de jeunesse, autant du côté de la programmation que du comportement adverse, mais le fait est qu'on peut encore passer un très bon moment sur ce Screamer tant sa conduite viscérale et immédiatement accessible fait mouche instantanément. Si la simulation n'est pas votre genre et que vous avez envie de vous amuser tout de suite quitte à passer à autre chose dans dix minutes, voilà un candidat plein de bonnes surprises.
Jun 23rd, 2021 · DOS · read reviewGameSpot (7.9 out of 10) (79%)
Screamer is for people who don't have five hours to spend analyzing which struts perform best in the snow on mountain terrain. They've got ten minutes, they're on the run, and they want a race. Whether it's against the computer or up to seven networked friends, a race is exactly what they're going to get.
May 1st, 1996 · DOS · read reviewPower Unlimited (7.5 out of 10) (75%)
Een race-spel van zeer hoge kwaliteit, als je tenminste een PC hebt van hoge kwaliteit en toegang tot een computer netwerk. Heb je dat allemaal niet, dan is het een racespel als zovele andere.
Jan 1996 · DOSGameStar (Germany) (74 out of 100) (74%)
Bleifuss ist ein zeitloses Rennvergnügen, das mit seiner protzigen SVGA-Grafik auch heute noch einigen Eindruck schindet. Um so mehr hätte ich mir die eine oder andere Strecke zusätzlich gewünscht. Steuerung und Fahrgefühl sind für einen Arcade-Racer über alle Zweifel erhaben. Lediglich der ziemlich unfaire Netzwerkmodus sorgt auf Dauer für leichten Frust.
Oct 1997 · DOSGameplay (Benelux) (66 out of 100) (66%)
Pluspunten: Zeer vlot spel, veel actie. Minpunten: Onrealistisch wegedrag, slechte artificiële intelligentie.
Feb 1996 · DOSPlayer Reviews
The Good
Screamer is an appropriate title for this arcade racer, which relies on physics-defying maneuvers like power-sliding to beat the computer opponents (or the clock). Many a race have I completed sliding through the finish line sideways because it was at the end of a curve.
The announcer is hilarious. I don't know who he's supposed to represent but he talks--no, yells--directly to you with things like "What happened out there?", "Go! GO! GO!!", and "LOSER!"
The graphics engine is very fast; 15fps and higher gameplay is guaranteed on 486 machines at 320x200, and this is a full textured world we're talking about. There's even the reflection of the current environment in the cars' windshields thanks to some quick environment mapping. There are some quality tradeoffs (there is no perspective-correction to speak of), but they're unnoticable when racing at high speeds.
The Bad
The sound effects are great, but the music was not as impressive as it should have been for a title with this much energy. Just my humble opinion... Also, the sound card support was a bit buggy; it took some wrangling in the setup to find a card/setting that worked with a standard Sound Blaster 16.
The VESA 640x400 mode is so rediculously slow on all systems that one wonders why it was ever included as an option. (Carmageddon's 640x480 VESA support brings back similar unpleasant memories.)
The Bottom Line
Screamer is a great game to play when you don't want to waste quarters at the arcade but do want to increase the flow of adrenaline throughout your body.
by Trixter (8950) on Dec 28th, 1999 · DOS
Screamer is a decent arcade racer that, for the most part, delivers on it's promises.
The Good
Screamer is an arcade style racer offering a few road cars and tracks from the outset with extra cars and tracks available after completing the Championship leagues, including playing all tracks in reverse (the track names are also spelt backwards).
The cars are rated by top speed, grip and acceleration, there's no tuning or upgrading options available. It pays to pick the right car for the right track though, a car with a high top speed but lower acceleration and grip probably won't be as suitable as a car with a lower top speed but good acceleration and grip, on a course with a lot of bends and few long straights, for example. There is a choice of manual and automatic gears for each car, the versions with manual gears having a slightly higher top speed.
The courses are colourful, detailed and play very well, with plenty of hills, dips, S-bends, long straights, tunnels etc. Extra touches such as passing trams, hovering helicopters and overhead aeroplanes add to the atmosphere. There are options for a Normal Game (Single Race), Championship and three Special Modes which consist of Time Attack (one lap time trial with ghost car for best time), Cone Carnage (run over cones for extra time) and Slalom (pass through pairs of markers for extra time).
After learning the courses it's great to power-slide by the other cars at speed maybe with a well placed clip to send them off into the side of the track, although they are just as likely to swerve into you sending you into the barrier. In the later stages of the Championship mode there is less time between checkpoints and the opponents are faster, more careful driving is recommended as there is much less margin for error. The biggest challenge is perhaps getting safely past the pack as one or two crashes can be enough to put you in last position.
While the sound effects do the job fine special mention should go the commentator who offers various quips including the odd handy warning of an upcoming corner. The music is perhaps standard fare but suits a game of this type well.
The Bad
The handling of the cars can take a bit of getting used to, sometimes it's not easy to know quite how the car will respond. Although after a while it'll become easier to judge the right speed and time to turn into a corner and to throw the car around a bit.
The game supports 320x200 VGA or 640x480 SVGA graphics modes. Although looking quite a bit better I found the SVGA mode to be unstable.
The game frequently crashed, sometimes the game would always crash at exactly the same point and lap in a certain race. This would happen when running the game in DOS on an older computer as well as in DOSBox on a Windows 7 system. Following some advice and increasing the memsize setting to 64 in the configuration file for DOSBox helped but did not eliminate the problem. The standard 320x200 mode ran fine in both cases.
The Bottom Line
Screamer is a fun game. Power-sliding and barging the opponents out of the way is the order of the day and a good challenge is provided in the Pro Championship mode. The game spawned a few sequels.
by Jack Lightbeard (2685) on Jan 10th, 2014 · DOS
Contributors to this Entry
Critic reviews added by Alaedrain, Tim Janssen, jean-louis, Jeanne, Patrick Bregger, Wizo, Daedolon, Mr Creosote, Sun King, Parf, Tomas Pettersson, Alsy, PolloDiablo.