Race Drivin'
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Race Drivin |
Race Drivin' is an arcade-style sim racing title launched by Atari Games in August 1990. Players take control of high-performance sports cars navigating stunt and speed-oriented circuits. As the follow-up to 1989's Hard Drivin'', it introduced sophisticated 3D polygonal graphics and a more authentic vehicle physics engine. Similar to its predecessor, the game included a force feedback steering wheel, an ignition key, a four-speed gear shifter, and three foot pedals. Approximately 1,200 arcade units were manufactured, each costing around .
During the mid-1990s, home versions were released on platforms such as the Super NES, Amiga, MS-DOS, Game Boy, PlayStation, Sega Genesis, and Sega Saturn. In 2005, it was featured in the Midway Arcade Treasures 3 compilation for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. An enhanced edition titled Race Drivin' a Go! Go! was introduced exclusively in Japan in 1996 for the PlayStation, developed and published by Time Warner Interactive.
Gameplay
The game offers a first-person cockpit perspective with a distinct dashboard for each car model, displaying essential gauges such as speedometer, tachometer, and fuel indicator.
Players can select from three manually shifted vehicles (speedster, roadster, original), one automatic transmission car, and three different courses: the stunt track (reminiscent of Hard Drivin'), Autocross, and Super Stunt. The objective involves completing one or two laps within a set time frame. Key features like Instant Replay and an off-road timer are carried over from Hard Drivin'.
Unlike its predecessor, only the stunt track includes oncoming traffic; both Autocross and Super Stunt tracks are free of other vehicles. The original shared course offers two driving routes, whereas the newer tracks each provide a single route. Typical completion times are approximately 1 minute 30 seconds for the original track, 30 seconds for Autocross, and about 3 minutes on Super Stunt. The Super Stunt course introduces complex maneuvers such as a corkscrew loop, mountain road section, a hill inclined at 45°, and a cylindrical tunnel.
Driving mechanics emphasize realism with features including an ignition key, manual transmission equipped with a four-speed shifter and clutch pedal, risk of engine stalling, and force feedback steering. The cockpit cabinet includes an adjustable bucket seat; a rare 'Panorama' version (limited to 100 units) offers between three to five monitors to provide a 180° field of view.
Multiplayer modes consist of "Buddy Race," where a second player competes against a previously recorded run, and "Linked Race," which allows two cabinets to be connected for simultaneous head-to-head racing.
Development
Doug Milliken is credited as a "test driver," though his role primarily involved consulting on the vehicle modeling that formed the basis for the game's physics engine. The arcade iteration of Race Drivin' made its debut at the UK's Amusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI) in 1991.
Compared to Hard Drivin' , Race Drivin' enhanced vehicle control through upgraded hardware and optimized programming. The original TMS34010 processor was replaced with an AT&T DSP32C chip, delivering higher processing speeds and floating-point capabilities. Unlike its predecessor's two-wheel simulation model, this title simulated all four wheels individually for greater realism.
Ports
Race Drivin' a Go! Go! is an enhanced version of the PlayStation port, launched exclusively in Japan in 1996 by Time Warner Interactive. This edition features the original Hard Drivin' track alongside the initial Race Drivin' circuits, as well as three additional courses. The selection of vehicles expanded from three to eight, offering both a single-player championship mode and an arcade-style time attack mode.
Reception
In the North American market, the arcade edition topped the RePlay arcade charts as the leading new video game in October 1990 and sustained its position as the most popular upright arcade cabinet from November 1990 through May 1991. Additionally, Race Drivin' Panorama achieved status as the top new arcade game in August 1991.
Reviews were varied across platforms. The Genesis version received a score of 23 out of 50 from Electronic Gaming Monthly, which criticized its "very choppy" scrolling and labeled it "another mediocre entry in the driving genre." Overall, critical opinions differed depending on the platform, reflecting inconsistent performance in home console adaptations.
External links
- Race Drivin at Arcade History