104 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
104 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
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STREET ROD
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Drag-racing around town can become quite expensive, especially
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after you're pulled over a few times by the friendly neighborhood
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police. (I haven't even begun to include the cost of a blown engine
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or a wrecked car.) Well, STREET ROD is here to help us would-be
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racing maniacs. (This review is based on the IBM-PC version.)
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STREET ROD allows you to customize your own car and go up against
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the bad boys (and girls) in town. You can choose from a variety of
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cars, ranging from a 1932 Ford Deuce Coupe to a 1963 Chevrolet
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Corvette Stingray. Remember, you don't have much cash to begin
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with, so you'll probably have to settle for that 1940 Chevy Coupe
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with the 6-banger. Just peruse the used car ads in the paper and see
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what you can find. (Everything you need for your car can be bought
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in the local paper.)
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Once you get your car, there are many other details you can
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customize. You don't want that old stock engine that came in your
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1940 Chevrolet Roadster, do you? Throw it out and get a
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327-cubic-inch gas burner! You can specify the engine,
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transmission, intake manifold, carburetors, and wheels that go on
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your hot rod. You might also want to chop the top, remove the
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bumpers, put on a new coat of paint, or slap on your favorite
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sticker. And don't forget to tune your engine before you hit the
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street. You can also retard or advance timing to raise or lower
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high- and low-end performance.
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When starting out in the game, it's best to just use what you
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have; it's hard to put a new engine and transmission in your car at
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this point. When you think your rod is up to par, hit the road and
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cruise by Bob's Drive-In; there's always some hotshot looking for a
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race at Bob's. Your competitors will drive by, so you can get a good
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look at their cars. If you see someone you'd like to race against,
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you can pop the hood on his or her car and see what's under it.
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(Once you're familiar with the game, you can tell what type of
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manifold, carburetor, and engine a car has. This will help you
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determine whether you really want to race someone.)
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There are two types of races: drag racing and road racing. Drag
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races are about a quarter-mile long. You can drag race just for
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fun, or you can bet up to $50. Drag racing is relatively easy: When
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the light turns green, go! Trying to knock your opponent's car off
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the road usually helps to gain a few car lengths.
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Road racing is more of a challenge. You can race for money, or for
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pink slips. The challenge lies in trying to keep the car on the
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road. The faster you go, the harder it is to take those turns. After
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winning all those races, it's back to the garage for an overhaul.
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Once you have some money, you have the option of modifying your
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existing car, or getting a new one. Engine modification is very
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limited. You just buy the engine and put it in. Modifying the cam,
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pistons, compression ratio, or anything else about the engine is not
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possible. (It would make the game much more of a learning experience
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and a challenge if it were, howvever.)
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You have more of a choice when selecting an intake manifold, but
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not much: You can buy a manifold that lets you mount one, two, or
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even three carburetors. Carburetor selection is limited, as well:
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Pick either a 2-barrel or a 4-barrel carburetor. Buying a new
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transmission can be a bit more challenging: You can get automatic,
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3-speed, 4-speed, or 4-speed race models. Automatic is good for
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beginners, but the 4-speed race transmission makes the car really
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move. Tires come in three different varieties: generic, brand name,
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or racing slicks. The better the tire, the less wear on it. After
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adding all of the extras to your car, it's off to Bob's for some
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more racing action.
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The object of the game is to build the ultimate race car, and you
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have only the summer months of June and July in which to do so. You
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must also beat enough people road racing and drag racing for the
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King to be interested in racing _you_. When you beat the King,
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you've won the game.
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I played STREET ROD on a 386-33 VGA setup. The speed was quite
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adequate, and I would recommend a 12MHz AT, or at the very least, a
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10MHz XT-class machine. Slower machines might limit the enjoyment of
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this game.
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You can use the keyboard, joystick, or mouse to control your car; I
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found the keyboard to be the easiest. The game can be installed
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quickly on your hard drive. The program uses a manual
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copy-protection method: You're given a page number, and you must
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identify the color of the car appearing on that page.
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STREET ROD impressed me as a nice enough game; I was engrossed for
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hours. Having a slight background in racing and building engines
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might help, and a good imagination won't hurt, either. The graphics
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are fair; EGA-level is the best you can get. The sound is gross, as
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it is in many games that use the IBM speaker. But the main downfall
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of this game is its lack of complexity: You'll quickly run out of
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new combinations to try.
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STREET ROD is published by California Dreams and distributed by
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Electronic Arts.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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