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Stunt Car Racer

Game Mechanics

Stunt Car Racer stands out from other games of the genre by offering races oriented around cascades. The competition takes place on narrow and elevated tracks, sometimes peaking at several tens of meters high, without any protection barrier coming to prevent track exits. The circuits have important denivels, gouffs, curved turns, springboards, donkey back and moving portions. Opposed to a single competitor, the player controls a hybrid vehicle, between the buggy and the dragster, which is equipped with a limited quantity nitrogen turbo.

Despite the fantasy tone of the tracks, Stunt Car Racer is similar to a simulation given the realism of its physical engine. The dynamic management of jumps and receptions is in particular considered one of the most advanced of the time. Pilotage is quite technical and passing the various difficulties requires a lot of cold blood. The vehicle suffers damage after too violent receptions and the player must accurately calculate his jump paths under penalty of being quickly forced to abandon. The gameplay forces to make a subtle compromise between the need to drive quickly to win it and the need to adapt precisely its speed to obstacles so as not to damage the chassis or exit the track.

The game offers a championship mode with four divisions, a training mode allowing you to freely discover the eight circuits of the game as well as a two-player mode for the Amiga and Atari ST versions. This mode is made possible by connecting two computers via a zero modem connection, which was still uncommon at the time (Populous proposes a similar device in 1989, the same year). It is even possible to connect an Amiga and an Atari ST.

The eight circuits of the game derive their name from the main difficulty they offer:

• The Little Ramp: the small ramp
• The Hump Back : the hidden bump
• The High Jump: The Great Jump
• The Stepping Stones: a section of the track is interspersed with successive blows that must be overflowed by repetition
• The Roller Coaster: Russian mountains
• The Ski Jump: the ski jump
• The Draw Bridge: the bridge