Rally Speedway

1983 computer games Atari gamesCommodore 64 games

racing gamesarcade games

Sometimes it takes just one detail to make a game memorable. Rally Speedway was a memorable game.

First glance at the title screen and the main menu would put you off this title - the creators did not put much effort in this part of the game. When you enter into the game itself, it still looks unimpressive - just a typical top-down racer, the graphics are hardly impressive, the steering is hardly impressive, the options will not blow your mind. But then, you will start moving. No, the tracks were hardly impressive either, but the smooth animation of the game and the surprisingly entertaining gameplay was.

The car was automatically accelerating, the player had to reduce speed when appropriate, which was a nice change from keeping the accelerate button constantly pressed and also let the user concentrate on the driving itself. There were no computer-controlled opponents, the race was against time, so finding the best way around the track was the ultimate goal.

There was a two player mode, in which (instead of split screen) they were kept on the same screen, but if one was getting too far behind, his car was brought back into the view, but with the time penalty added.

The racing options were allowing to set up the top speed of the car, the acceleration rate and the road conditions (normal, wet, icy), which made quite a lot of difference to the gameplay.

And another very impressive feature was the track editor - you could build your own tracks out of the available blocks and even place some objects around the track.

But so far I haven’t mentioned the detail that made this game memorable. Yes, there was the smooth animation, the nice set of options and the editor, but sometimes the little guy makes all the difference. No, I’m not talking about my... Well, anyway. In case of Rally Speedway, the little guy was the driver. Once in a while, when you hit a tree or a house (come on, we’ve all been there), the car just burst into fire and the driver jumps out, rolls on the ground until the flames are out. And that is the detail that made me remember this game even decades later.

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Rally Speedway screenshots

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