MegaRace 1+2

Being the fan of video gaming curiosities that I am, I was pleasantly surprised when picking up MR1, on virtue of it's title alone, for $2 at a market. MR1 is technically just a racer, but there are so many things that make it unique that feels like much more than that. The first thing you'll notice when you boot it up is the lengthy and surprisingly entertaining FMV cutscenes. Our eccentric host Lance Boyle will introduce the confusing setting through the medium of a popular TV program in the future. His quirky sense of humor and sometimes downright creepy manner lend the game a lot of its character, though the setting often feels artificial and irrelevant out of these cutscenes. The second abnormality MR1 exhibits is that every element of it's gameplay is done using FMV graphics. Each course is actually one long, pre-rendered film strip of a 3D race course, the speed of the strip being dependent on the speed of your car. The obvious limitation to this process is it's impossible to deviate even slightly from the track, and all tracks have to be essentially uniform in composition, so the effect is purely a visual one. Challenge is added to the raceway by symbols, similar to Wipeout, that can positively or adversely affect speed, energy, and other attributes while racing. Finally, the game play is not quite standard racing fare. Graphical limitations allow only one racer to be visible at any one time, but the player is allowed to defeat them any way they like- they can pass them like a traditional racer, or bump them against the edge of the track or even shooting them with on-board weapons. MR1 is quite emphatic on this point- you can, and should, defeat your opponents any way you like. Is MR1 a good game? That's a much harder question to answer. I must admit the FMV took a long time to get used to but once I started to memorize track layouts I really started to get into the game. Victory is predicated on hitting the right symbols so memorizing the tracks is essential. That said, there's no rubber band here and the progressive method of game play coupled with the strict time limits on each race make the game rather unforgiving and hitting the finish line seconds before passing your nearest rival can be very frustrating. I get the feeling how much fun this game is to individuals will be highly subjective. But good or not, Mega Race is undeniably unique.

Megarace 1 (as already written down here a thousand times, the second is simply... bad and not worth discussing about it) starts with a really good idea, or better yet, a really 'cool' setting: dystopian television show about race and murder. In full FMV, the character Lance Boyle, as show runner of the murder races, is also a good vector all of those 'dystopian' vibes (which I'm rather fond of) and manages to be entertaining long enough... but not for the whole game(s). Gameplay wise, there is little to be said: it aged really bad and wasn't even that great to start with. Besides that, graphics are somewhat good (talking about n1, 'cuz 2 isn't worth it) and sounds are on point. So, unless you are fan or a retro gamer explorer of this little quirky games of the past, I'd rather not recommended... not even for a dollar. (But damn those 90's futuristic dystopian vibes are tasty).

The game has good art, a great concept, great atmosphere but also has really bad design choices. Both games have poor handling and narrow tracks which is not good for a car based game, thus making them artificially hard. Cutscenes are really good but they are really poorly implemented on the first game. They are interesting and unique games and that alone is worth it, just be advised that they are'nt as enjoyable as they could have been.

Worth the money just to see Lance Boyle! "I'm Lance Boyle and you would be too, if you were me." "You've won... A Scottish Accent!!" Also you race cars and shoot.

NOT RECOMMENDED / PASS THE GAS. It is two games that are game-dev-wise super raw and not-there-yet, couched with some Lance Boyle FMV, Chances are you are going to like neither one of them. Go play some freeware Death Rally instead, that's how you make a driving game with guns. Megarace 1 relies on map memorization, pixel perfect road bonus collection and deleting your progress if you fail once, no continuing. Megarace 2 requires figuring out how to buy more ammo (I never did), somehow not die when one of the opponents starts laying mines in a narrow one-lane road in your face and not getting bored by the multiple repeats of same stages for no good reason. Also, no continuing whatsoever. Crash once and you will have to grind through the levels from the beginning. The controls are beyond floaty, especially in MR2. Do not buy this for the gameplay because it is not worth it. Seen better stuff in flimsy Flash games. Neither of the games communicate what their control schemes are and they are different between the "games." Space Bar shoots in both, , and - (MR1) / left and right arrow for steering and A (MR1) and up arrow for accelerating. The Lance Boyle humor gets progressively worse with the games, starting with "wow cool" and ending up with "for the love of the makers, please stop" by the beginning of the second game.