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Powerslide
Page 2
Wierd 'sliding' cars with True physics
The first time you start a game in single race, you will have access to four different cars. Each car has of course its own strenghts and capabilities. It's up to you to determine which car suits you best with the track that you want to race on.
The first 2 cars are the Orc and the Sabre which are in fact sophisticated corporate vehicles that runs on a newly developed fuel. The 2 other ones, the Big Heaver and the Warthog (god you gotto love those names :)) are feral grunt machines that are burning good old gasoline. You know, from the old days before that nuclear war.
Powerslide's cars are using true physics and they do perform differently in different environments. So like I said before, you'll have to experiment a bit to determine which car gives you the best performance on each track. That ain't so hard, right?
When you have decided which car to take you better choose your track. Each track in Powerslide is just beautiful. If you take a look at those screenshots you'll see what I mean. Outdoor environments are absolutely not a problem to this 3D engine because it can give your smooth framerates without losing any image quality. When the game begins (in single race) you have access to 3 tracks which are Sand Blaster (located in the Savannah), Speedway and Dam Track. However, if you take the Championship mode and win several levels, more tracks will be available. There are 8 different tracks with all different out- and indoor environments which are absolutely stunning!!
And 4 bonus tracks (Stunt Track, Luge, Aztec and Seven) are also later in the game available. The last 2 bonus tracks, Aztec and Seven are only available in Multiplayer mode. You really have to play this game to believe it :).
Especially when you can set the resolution higher then 640x480, for example in 1024x768 the game will blow your socks off!
  
Awesome graphics
Ratbag did an excellent job with the graphics in Powerslide. I ran the game in 640x480 on my Voodoo I (yeah I know I'm a bit behind but wait a couple of weeks and I'm gonna have an Ultra TNT2 thanks to the folks at Guillemot :)) and it just was as smooth as ehm ... well, it was supersmooth with all the details set to high and any other features were enabled.
The game supports any 3dfx card and any other Direct 3D card with DirectX 6.x.
Fortunately for those who haven't got a 3D hardware accelerator Powerslide will give you the option to run it in Sofware mode. This mode looks a lot less prettier than when you run it with a 3D accelerator and you'll get very blocky graphics and very low framerates which will make the game (almost) unplayable.
So, if you are thinking of buying Ratbag's Powerslide, make sure that you have a 3D-hardware accelerator card (3dfx or D3D card) installed.
Damn good Music tunes
Damn, those music tracks are just so good that you definitely won't insert one of your audio-cds when you play it.
Indeed, music is always one of those aspects in a racing game that usually don't really matters. If it ain't good, just turn it off or insert an audio-cd (if it works). Well, when you play Powerslide there is absolutely no need to turn that music slider to '0%' because it is so damn good that you will pay more attention to the music then to the race instead :). And that's a thing that you don't wanna do right?
In almost every race game, the sound effects are pretty much the same. This game ain't no exception however. The metal to metal and engine sounds are basically always the same in any race game and to my opinion, Powerslide will offer you nothing new in the sound effects area. They sound all good ... just good.
  
The controls in Powerslide are a bit strange the first time you race because the main purpose of taking corners is by sliding your car.
In the beginning, it was extremely difficult to race fast without nailing the corners widely. After a bit of practice you'll be able to take them with precision. Of course what input device would be the best one to try this game out? Right, a force feedback steering wheel. And I did try it out with 2 FF devices, thanks to Guillemot and Microsoft for sending the Race Leader FF and Sidewinder FF steering wheel to the PlayDevil office. The force feedback was really intense and very good in Powerslide. It was in fact the first time that I use a FF steering wheel with a race game and I must say, it's just great!!
Up to 12 Players!
What would a race game be without any support for Multiplayer? Nothing.
Fortunately the Ratbag guys knew this and they include different multiplayer-protocols namely: IPX, TCP/IP and modem.
Powerslide supports up to 12 players. I played the game using a TCP/IP connection and there was some lag but nothing to worry about. Multiplayer games are always fun because you never know what the other gamer will do.
Conclusion
Ratbag made a very good impression with their first futuristic game, Powerslide. It offers truly magnificient in- and outdoor environments that will blow your socks off!
The music is just superb while the sound effects are 'just good'. Nothing new, just the average effects that are always present in any race game.
It also offers great multiplayer with almost no lag. It supports the 3 well known types, IPX, TCP/IP and modem and it has a multiplayer capability of 12 persons.
Powerslide is definitely one of the most astonishing looking sci-fi race games that you can find at your local computer store.
If you love superb graphics, great gameplay, good music you better get this game now!
-Bjorn
Ratings
Manual:
83% |
Graphics:
90% |
Music & Sfx:
88% |
GamePlay:
86% |
|
This game scores
on our 5-point Rating System
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