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3DNow!™ Powerslide Review

Developer/Publisher Ratbag Games / GT Interactive	Est. Street Price $29.95 (US)
Minimum System Requirements 133 MHz Pentium class computer 16MB of RAM 4MB 3D accelerator	Recommended System Requirements K6-2 266MHz or higher 32MB of RAM 8MB 3D accelerator

Introduction

So, you think you're a racing maniac. Maybe you've mastered the power of the tortoise shell to gain you the lead position in Mario Kart 64. Perhaps you've slyly outrun a couple cops in Lamborghini Diablos while playing Need for Speed 3. But even with all of that under your belt, nothing can prepare you for the post-nuclear off-road racing mayhem of Powerslide. In the 21st century the ozone layer has been depleted. Ultra-Violet rays burn up every organism that risks exposure to daylight. The world as we know it is no more. Large corporations have formed huge underground cities in which they control a middle-class population in a totalitarian society. Meanwhile above ground, feral and feudal groups struggle to survive the harsh conditions of the wasted planet. However, to keep their minds off their melting bodies, they have begun using the cars of yesteryear as a source of entertainment. Rampaging through the streets of abandon metropolises, countrysides, sewers, and mines they have brought about the reign of the Powersliders. Now with the popularity of this reckless sport, rebel corporate racers join the excitement with their technology and desire for speed.

Graphics & Animation

Powerslide presents an amazing array of eyecandy. Even in the desolate post-nuclear wastelands, environments are lush and full of splendid detail. The whole theme of the shattered earth is extremely convincing from the half-buried buildings in the desert sands to the dried and cracked ground of the dam track. I wouldn't expect anything less from the country that brought us Mad Max. The jagged and rugged vehicles of Powerslide are rendered with extreme detail. Each model has its' own battered and bruised paint job and also has many variations depending on the driver you choose. The cars and courses make dramatic use of dynamic lighting as sharp shadows suddenly dim details as you pass by and tunnel lights glare out at you. The game's engine spits out 300,000 polys at 60 frames per second to make sure the ride is virtually smooth aside from the rough terrain of the tracks. Certainly, Powerslide visually captures all that you could imagine about apocalyptic racing.

Sound & Music

Powerslide sound effects are very well done. Every noise you would expect from a racer is present and recognizable. Collisions, crashes, motor revving, tire slipping and squealing, and more are all composed exquisitely to perfection. Microsoft's DirectSound3D, Aureal's A3D, and Creative Labs' EAX are all supported, thus giving the barren racer excellent spacial depth. Opponents gaining on your tail slice side with their infringing motors as the attempt to leave you in radiated dust. The music sound track is something else entirely. Definitely influenced from European techno and dance music, Powerslide's sound track is awesome! The composition seems to go along perfectly with the game's motif and accents the gameplay in every aspect. My suggestion is when you boot-up this puppy, crank it!

Gameplay & Immersion

If you come away from this review and retain only one thing it should be that Powerslide is unlike any racing game you've ever seen before. Powerslide uses a real-world physics engine to calculate the reactions of the many roughneck vehicles. Every car features its' own set of unique traits such as weight, top speed, acceleration, aerodynamics, traction, and more. Additionally, each track in Powerslide has a variety of earth that you race on with its' own tolerances and surface tensions. The physics engine computes this as you cut corners or slam on the accelerator. Naturally, in sand you cannot expect to hit the hand brake in a curve while preparing to stomp on the acceleration without getting slipping and a severe loss of speed. Now all of this is very cool, but it also makes the game very difficult to get use to since most of us are more familiar with racers that have pavement! Powerslide showcases six post-nuclear automobiles and twelve apocalyptic courses. At first you start out with a mere four cars and three tracks at your disposal. As you progress through the Championship Mode, and provided you win each tournament, more cars and tracks will be unlocked. The first couple tracks that you race on in the Novice tour are interesting but nothing quite awe inspiring. The real treat is the tracks you eventually are awarded! Such raceways as Mineshafted, Urban Brawl, and the bonus Stunt Track are exhilarating and thrilling to rip through. These advanced courses are filled with illusive dead ends, death defying jumps, and more hair-whitening visions. Unfortunately, Powerslide seems to be lacking a few things that I feel could've really made the game stand out even more. There are no vehicle upgrades. This means you are always stuck choosing a car that may be excellent in one characteristic, but hindered in another. Winning races doesn't build up you cash allowance to expand your vehicle, but rather your fruit supply. Another point is while the game is true to support the "Make your own damn road" phrase, there are no alternative routes or shortcuts in any way. I've always found treats like this to bring out a fun exploration factor in an off-road racer. Also, the tracks don't suffer from weather conditions. I know this would just make the game more difficult, but it makes each track much more replayable when it is snow-covered or rained-out. Finally, this game desperately needs weapons! I'm not bashing on Ratbag for not including weapons, but a couple flame-throwers or rocket-launchers here and there would have been an excellent touch. To my understanding the multiplayer mode does have a cheat for something along these lines, I just wish it had been further developed.

3DNow!™ Support

Powerslide makes excellent use of the 3DNow!™ instruction set. After talking to Jeffrey Lim of Ratbag Games, I found out how 3DNow!™ is taken advantage of in gaming engine. "3DNow!™ has been incorporated into the graphics engine to accelerate 3D transformations, lighting", says Lim. These optimizations gain a 10-15% increase in game speed depending on the video card drivers. Because of this Powerslide is a very playable game. Choppy graphics and low framerates are a mere occasional occurrence. There is no way to disable 3DNow!™ in Powerslide as it automatically detects the instruction set and puts it to work. The benchmarks below reflect the performance of the desolate racer on a K6-2-300MHz with 64MB of RAM. Powerslide Benchmarks w/ 3DNow!™ Rendition V2100 33.96 fps 32.21 fps     Voodoo2 12MB 58.09 fps 55.20 fps     640x480     800x600 Notice - Benchmarks were performed under Windows95 OSR2 with DirectX 6.1. Color depth, visual options, and audio options were all on at their maximum settings. Average framerate was taken from demo of "Speedway" track. Click here to read the specifications of the test system.

Overall

Powerslide is an excellent futuristic racer. The graphics and sound are most impressive and bring out the best in the game. While the gameplay is difficult at first, you'll soon be leaving corporate rebels and feral gang members in the dust. 3DNow!™ support is abundant and well executed, so that any gamer can experience Powerslide to its' fullest on a K6-2 system. Ratbag's Powerslide makes a fine addition to anyone's racing game library.