Interstate '76 (Windows)

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Description

In a dark alternate vision of 1976, the Federal U.S. Government has faltered and the world suffers from the effects of an oil crisis. Armed gangs terrorize the roads of the American South West. You are Groove Champion - when your sister Jade is killed you inherit her custom-built Picard Piranha and become a vigilante, with only revenge on your mind.

Interstate '76 is a vehicular combat game with a 1970s theme which means muscle cars & funky disco music. Hit the road and seek the killer of Groove's sister in 17 scripted missions across open-ended trackless areas, or battle creepers in the instant melee mode, against up to 7 other human players. The player can equip their car with different weapons, like machine guns, turrets, grenade launchers and mines. Although the game world is not intended to be realistic, the car handling and collision physics are.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Trailer

Alternate Titles

• "Interstate '76: Kultige 3D-Action-Raserei" -- German tag-lined title
• "Interstate '76: Course et combat explosifs en 3D" -- French tag-lined title
• "Interstate '76: 3-D Auto Combat Simulation" -- Tag-lined title
• "Interestadual 76: Simulador de Combate em 3D" -- Brazilian tag-lined title
• "Interestadual 76" -- Brazilian title
• "I76" -- Common abbreviation

Part of the Following Groups

• Genre: Car / motorcycle combat
• Interstate series
• Setting: 1970s
• Setting: Alternate history

User Reviews

More fun than John Travolta in a gorilla cage!	Les Nessman (281)
This is one helluvah game! You dig?	Roedie (5250)
Get with the funk	Julian McKenzie (182)
Original presentation AND high quality	Tony Van (2855)
Out of sight. This game grooves, man.	Steelysama (106)

Critic Reviews

Game.EXE	Mar, 1997	98 out of 100	98
Entertainment Weekly	Apr 25, 1997	A-	91
Electric Games	1997	90 out of 100	90
GameSpot	Apr 01, 1997	8.9 out of 10	89
Gameplay (Benelux)	Apr 30, 1997	84 out of 100	84
Game Revolution	Apr, 1997	B+	83
Edge	May, 1997	8 out of 10	80
Reset	Jun, 1997	8 out of 10	80
Score	Apr, 1997	16 out of 20	80
PC Joker	May, 1997	71 out of 100	71

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Trivia

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

Related Web Sites

• Designer's Notebook: Interstate'76 (A feature article on the industry website Gamasutra, which makes use of Interstate '76 to illustrate the game design concept of "Harmony", in which each part of a game feels as if it belongs to a cohesive whole (Jan. 15th, 1999).)
• IGCD Internet Game Cars Database (Game page on IGCD, a database that tries to archive vehicles found in video games.)
• Interview with Scott Krager, Interstate 76 Producer (on Gamezilla.com (1996))
• The Local Ditch presents Interstate '76 (General site that has maps, codes, pre-release screenshots, strategies, and other trivial I '76 items.)