Vimm's Lair: NES Reviews - Rad Racer
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Rad Racer

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Overall:		 4.73
4.88
5.15
5.16
Votes: 81
Reviews: 3


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Reviewer: Ellie Date: Oct 2, 2006
Catchy tunes, 3D mode, world travel. What more could one ask from a game?

Graphics: 7
Graphics are decent. 3D mode is different and fun. Adds a little excitement and variety to a pretty well standard racing game. The landscapes are well plotted, and oncoming hazards are clear and sometimes avoidable, but that's the point. The city skylines in the "night" levels are surprisingly realistic considering the capabilities of the NES.

Sound: 7
The squeal of the tires, the roar of the engine, the death-kill sound of the "time is running out" siren. These are all good effects, again, consider when this game was designed. The soundtrack has many catchy tunes, all of which are cycling through my head at this moment. They stick with you, even if you haven't played the game in many years. Bow-bow-bow, ba bow-bow, bow-bow-bow, ba BA-da (anyone else who has played the game a lot will know the aforementioned, and sing along) Yeah.

Gameplay: 7
I love games that have a "pick it up to play something" feel to them, but this one still has different stages of increasing difficulty, so it gives you something to shoot for. It also ranks high on the replayability scale. I would seriously recommend anyone who samples this game on here to go out and get a copy for their NES. Nothing beats playing this game with the real controller, after having to blow on the cartridge a few times. You just have to. It makes it work. Really it does.

Overall: 8
Overall this is a mildly addictive and highly enjoyable game. It's also safe for all ages, a big difference between what's hot now and what was hot then. So put on your 3D glasses, pick up that square controller, and prepare to get them little blisters going on the insides of your ring fingers again:)

NES games rock.

 

Reviewer: Visjoner Date: Apr 8, 2003
I suppose that most of users already know this game, but I'd like to write something about it. It's a bit of difficult to me because there's not much to say about the first games of this system due to their simplicity, but I like this one quite a lot and it brings me memories of when I played it on one of those machines where one had to insert X coin in order to play any of those games for a limited time... I hated them!

Graphics: 3
Very plain, though at that time they could look nice.

Sound: 3
We can select among three tunes pressing the down key (I discovered that accidentally, long ago), but even so they're somewhat annoying. Personally, I play better without listening to them.

Gameplay: 6
Like always, when one gets the hang of it, there's no mystery. There are two types of car to choose at the beginning -the red one reminds me the car of 'Out Run'-... but there's no difference between them at playing. Curiously, the final of the game is the same with both (how lazy). The player has to arrive at the end of the course before the time is up, with tons of cars that sometimes make the trip a nightmare.

Overall: 6
An average game of cars that can be easily forgotten after beating the last course. Not much to say a part from that.

A sequel of this game was released after some years, but it's worthless...

 

Reviewer: Nick Miller Date: Oct 4, 2002
Every once in a while, you come across a game that changes you in a way. It isn't nothing spectacular, it just does something in a small way that makes you think differently from that day forward. I saw that in Rad Racer.

Graphics: 5
Okay, so the graphics weren't so hot. Flickering all the time, those dreaded computer cars, seems as if they just hit from nowhere. Flicker equals slow down, which spoils the fun. That's about as basic as the explanations get on the graphics of this old racing game, people.

Sound: 8
Perhaps the best thing about this game: The sound. The sounds of the car starting up and accelerating are solid, and make you feel as if you are in the car yourself. The soundtrack, with four different songs to choose from can keep you company while trying to dodge the cold hearted opponents on the way to the finish line. The skidding through the turn, sounds pretty good, although it could be better too. When you crash, it sounds pretty impressive for a game at the time. *Clang, clang, clang.. on and on and on.. get it?* Overall, solid sound effects and music. Thumbs up on the part of that.

Gameplay: 8
Another thing that really stood out with this game was the gameplay. Every level up you go, the more opponents, and the more they try cutting you off and sending you flipping into the sunset. The car handles a bit odd, but you get used to it after a few levels. I would play this game for hours, and with the opponents getting more and more challenging, why wouldn't someone keep going? Overall, unusually addicting.

Overall: 7
In a nutshell, it isn't a very good game. But as I said before, this game just made me feel different in one way or another when I played it. Graphics are terrible, but the sounds and the gameplay make up for that. If you want something different for a change, try Rad Racer.. because there will always be something in this game, that keeps you coming back for more.

For the people who rated this game a 3 overall, did you even give this game a chance? Give it a second try, I dare you.. it's more of a 7 than a 2 or 3.. really.