Interstate '76

1001 Video Games

Interstate '76 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cancelled Playstation version

The game was in development for the Playstation but never released.

Cars

The cars that appear in Interstate '76 are all based on real cars (of course the names had to be changed because of copyright/trademark issues): * Courcheval Cavera - Chevrolet Camaro. * Courcheval Courchelle - Chevrolet Chevelle. * Courcheval Manta - Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. * Courcheval Royale - Chevrolet Caprice. * ABX AMZ - AMC Javelin AMX. * ABX Leprechaun - AMC Gremlin. * Dover Lightning - Dodge Challenger or Dodge Charger. * Picard Jackrabbit - Plymouth Superbird. * Picard Piranha - Plymouth Barracuda. * Phaedra Palomino - Ford Mustang. * Phaedra Pony - Ford Pinto. * Phaedra Clydesdale - Ford Bronco. * Phaedra Rattler - Shelby Cobra. * Phaedra Coupe - Ford Coupe (Street Rod). * Glenn Inc. Bushmaster - Jeep. * Jefferson Sovereign - Lincoln Continental. * Vikea 420 Wagon - Volvo 420 GL. * Moth Truck - Mack Truck.

Contest

To promote the game Activision made what has to be the most extravagant videogame contest ever: Purchasing specially marked boxes at Electronics Boutique gave you the chance to enter a sweepstakes were you could actually win the official Interstate '76 car! (the blue muscle car in the game's cover). 50 3rd prize winners would get the soundtrack, 25 2nd prize winners would get a CGW "prize package" and 25 first prize winners would get a Sidewinder 3D pro joystick, BUT if you found a golden key in your game box, then you could visit the Activision HQ along two other contestants, have dinner with the production team at Hard Rock cafe, visit Universal Studios, etc.

Cutscenes

It is a common misconception that the cinematic cutscenes are performed in realtime by the 3D engine of the game. Although they use solid-filled polygons and low-vertex models, they are pre-rendered and compressed with the Cinepak codec. They are not rendered in realtime. The blocky appearance of the cutscenes is intentional.

Gold Edition

There is actually a Interstate '76 (Gold Edition), which is the game with GLIDE and Rendition 3D support. However, the name was later reused to re-release The Interstate '76 Arsenal.

References

One type of wheels you can put under your car is the 15 inch Krager. A reference to the producer of this game; Scott Krager.

Soundtrack

For Interstate '76's soundtrack Kelly Rogers, director of music production at Activision, recruited among others songwriter and former Santana keyboardist Tom Coaster as well as Third Eye Blind's Arion Salazar.

Awards

• Computer Gaming World
  • March 1998 (Issue #164) – Artistic Achievement of the Year
  • May 2005 (Issue #251) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
• GameStar (Germany)
  • Issue 12/1999 - #83 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
• PC Player (Germany)
  • Issue 01/1998 - Best Atmosphere in 1997
• Power Play
  • Issue 02/1998 – Best Racing Game in 1997

Information also contributed by Kasey Chang, Roedie and Zovni