Tag Archives: cars

Commodore 64, Ocean Software, Taito

Special Criminal Investigation, Commodore 64

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Special Criminal Investigation is quite a ‘special’ game. It is part of the Chase HQ series and was released on cartridge only, for the Commodore 64 at least, by Ocean Software in the UK.

SCI was also released late in the Commodore 64‘s lifetime (in 1990 to be precise), so benefited from coders knowing advanced programming techniques that could push the beige bread bin further than it had ever been pushed before.

And the result is a fast-paced, visually-impressive, and highly playable racing game. Sorry, chasing game… A conversion of the Taito arcade game, sometimes known as simply S.C.I. or Chase HQ 2: Special Criminal Investigation.

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Arcade, Taito

Special Criminal Investigation, Arcade

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Sometimes known simply as S.C.I. or Chase HQ 2: Special Criminal Investigation, this high octane driving sequel to Chase HQ is another fast-paced driving game with you playing a cop hot on the heels of some nasty criminals.

It was developed and manufactured by Taito and released into arcades in 1989, and – for my money – is one of the most exciting and heart-pumping 2D chase games ever made.

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Codemasters, PlayStation

Micro Machines V3, PlayStation

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The third Micro Machines was released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation. In V3 the environments and vehicles are all 3D-modelled, and the action is displayed at a slightly tilted angle, rather than directly overhead.

The same excellent gameplay mechanics of the previous games have been retained though. Mostly revolving around getting ahead of your opponents in order to push them off-screen.

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Codemasters, NES/Famicom

Micro Machines, NES

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This 1991 release from Codemasters is the first game in the award-winning Micro Machines video game series and – boy – does it kick-start the series in style!

In fact: it established the staples that make the series so good, like the themed tracks, and the ‘race-to-the-edge-of-the-screen’ style racing.

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Ancient, Game Boy Advance, Natsume, Victor Interactive Software

Car Battler Joe, Game Boy Advance

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Car Battler Joe is an interesting cross between a JRPG and a driving game. It was developed for the Game Boy Advance by Ancient and published in 2001.

In some respects the driving sections remind me of Tranz Am, but they’re much more varied and the car you drive is more dynamic than in Ultimate‘s classic driving game. In truth Car Battler Joe is probably more influenced by Origin‘s 1985 game Autoduel and Steve Jackson‘s post apocalyptic RPG, Cars Wars.

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Arcade, Gremlin Industries, Sega

Head On, Arcade

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Head On is an early arcade game, developed by Sega and manufactured by Gremlin Industries (not to be confused with Gremlin Graphics or Gremlin Interactive) in 1979.

It was the first maze game where the goal was to collect the dots, making it something of a precursor to Namco‘s Pac-Man which came a year later in 1980.

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Arcade, Sega

Power Drift, Arcade

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Power Drift is a superfast racing game designed by Yu Suzuki and first released into arcades by Sega in 1988.

The game uses high speed scaling effects (similar to After Burner and Out Run) to generate the tracks and the cars on the road, and the speed at which you race is pretty startling.

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PSP, Rockstar Games, Rockstar Leeds, Rockstar North

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, PSP

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A handheld spin-off from the infamous Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, this one made by Rockstar Leeds (in association with Rockstar North), and published on the PlayStation Portable in 2006.

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