~Atari Jaguar/CD Reviews- Power Drive Rally~

Power Drive Rally

SYSTEM: Atari Jaguar
DEVELOPER: Time Warner Interactive
PRODUCER: Time Warner Interactive
PRICE: Very Cheap now!
RATED: Kids to Adults

I got my Jaguar when it first came out. I think I paid something like $300.00 for the system. To me, it was a great deal. It was very apparent that the games, especially the graphics, were worlds ahead of the current gaming systems (Being: SNES, Sega 32X, Sega CD, 3DO).

Atari had a killer system, it was the technological leader, and probably would've became the top system if the public just had a little faith in Atari. The people, and gaming mags remembered Atari's past blunders, and weren't shy about bringing them up. People say that Atari fell because of crappy software, and that it couldn't compete with the newer 32bit systems. Well, all this is partially true, and partially not true. It's true that the Playstation, and Saturn were stronger systems. What people tend to forget is the fact that the Jaguar was out well over a year (almost 2) before either of those systems were released. So, yes as the system aged, it was beaten by the newer systems. For awhile though, it was worlds ahead of anything released by the other manufacturers. Crappy software you say? Yes, crappy software eventually hurt the system, but the crappy software only came when the company was already going under. I believe Atari was just releasing unfinished products, as a last ditch effort to gain revenue. They knew they couldn't compete, and were going under, so they just did what they could to keep from going bankrupt. In the begining though, Atari had many great games. To name a few: Tempest 2000, Power Drive Rally, Alien vs. Predator, Iron Solider, Pinball Fantasies, Ray Man, Club Drive (Yes I do believe this), Raiden, and Baldies. All great games, and deserve to be remembered. No, what I believe is the Jaguar was killed primarilly by the press. They didn't even give the system a chance. All the mags were hyping the Saturn, Ultra 64, and Playstation to the max, and running the Jaguar into the ground. It hardly even seemed fair. The Ultra 64 was being praised, and it was over three years before it was even released. I think it's very sad, because the Jaguar (Despite what anyone says) had great hardware. Had sales been better, it would've had more great software too. So yes, I think Atari deserves some of the bad press, it has made many mistakes. I just don't think it deserved near as much as it got. On the otherhand, although releasing software that was rushed, or incomplete, may be a quick way to make a few bucks, the public will always remember. In the end it is a very bad move.

I suppose I should actually write a little about Power Drive Rally in this review. Don't you think?!

Here's a great little title that deserved far more recognition that it got. At the time of it's release, everyone was talking about 3D, and 2D games, such as this, got little or no attention at all. It didn't matter if they were great games or not, they just weren't newsworthy at the time.

Power Drive Rally is an overhead (top-down) driving game. To me, this was quite a refreshing change of pace. I haven't seen this type of game in quite some time.

I have never seen a game of this type that looks this good. The graphics are just beautiful! The cars, the roads, the skid marks, the trees, everything has been drawn to perfection. It's the small touches like these that make this such a great game.

No small feature was spared. This game has everything. Working headlight, vehicle upgrades, skill tests, ect..., all done to perfection. This game even has varying weather conditions. Ice, snow, rain, day night. Everything they could give you for that relistic experience. As I mentioned above, some Jaguar games felt as if they'd been rushed. This is not the case with Power Drive Rally. This game is a class act from start to finish.

The "Skill tests" are a great addition. After some races, you are required to complete a skill test. This test helps to hone your driving skills by making you complete certain tasks before you can race again. Tasks such as braking, weaving through cones, stoping at a certain place, ect.. Once complete, your ready, and now able, to complete the next race in the given time.

The gameplay was near perfect. You race against a Computer controlled car, and you must also beat the clock. If you win, and complete the game before the timer runs out, you get to go the next track. You can really tell the developers spent time tweeking the gameplay. It was always a challenge completing a course, but never to hard that you wanted to give up in frustration. When it was difficult, I was always seconds off the leader, and made me want to race again.

So, yes. The Jaguar did have some good games. Even by today's standards, Power Drive Rally is a great game. If you have a Jag, or can get one cheaply, I say do it! There's some great games there that can't be found on other systems.

RATINGS
GRAPHICS 95%
SOUND 88%
GAMEPLAY 91%
ORIGINALITY 90%
REPLAY VALUE 88%
OVERALL 90%

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