This is another 80's arcade classic that's ridden a little under the radar. Not to say this game isn't well known or non-popular as it's still being rereleased in all kinds of forms and just about everywhere now but at the time it wasn't a popular a game as "Pac Man" or many other classics from "Namco" but now it is much beloved now as it was then.
This game is another in the maze action genre of games, this game came out the same year as "Pac Man" ironically as both games are from the same company. Here they were pretty much doing "Pac Man" again but here they changed things up where this time you were a racing car.
Not much to it as it's a game where you simply collect all the flags before you run out of fuel but also before any of the evil rival race cars crash into you. That's really it in a nutshell, games back then weren't known for deep stories as they were known for the action. Which is fine by me, personally whenever I play this game, I sometimes pretend I'm "Speed Racer" and I'm in some sort of crazy rally race and there is some criminal mastermind rival car team is trying to bump me off. So, that's one of the advantages of these old-time games you can pretty much make up your own story.
The graphical presentation is basic as you have just a bunch of shapes that make up the maze, along with the race cars which look like just basic racing cars. But as I said before this game were really in it for the action and that's what we get. The control is responsive as you go left, right, up, and down while in constant motion.
One of the unique things about the game is the radar system. This is very useful because with this you not just know where each of the flags are placed but you know where the rival cars are which in a way puts you a step ahead of the game. I even like that in places you have a couple of defensive weapons, from one which is smoke screen to slow down the cars behind you buying you time to get away. Another is oil which will make the rival cars slide and crash reducing some of the odds for a brief amount of time. There are even some fuel cans lying around that you can find, and it will buy you more time. But be careful whenever you find and use these resources as there are only very few of them in each of the races, so don't waste them or your time.
The game does ramp up in difficulty as you gain more millage, the odds on the cars increase but also each of the rally's you're on is always different they're never the same. From the design of each maze but also in the placement of those deadly bolder traps that you won't always expect or see until it's too late, so don't get overconfident, as an old saying goes "the next race is ever the same."
This vintage classic has lots of millage but plenty of speed.
Rating: 3 stars.