The Video Game Critic

Here are two Nintendo 64 racing reviews for your reading enjoyment.
Let me know what you think about the reviews and the games. I like feedback.

At last an F- game for the N64!

I think it should be mentioned the original Carmageddon game had you mowing down humans, while the N64 version features zombies with green blood. This move was odd because the game is rated mature anyway.

Anyways, great reviews as per usual. Last line of the Carmageddon 64 review was hilarious.

I had Top Gear Rally as a kid. I liked the soundtrack a lot. I also loved the "paint" feature where I could put my horrible childhood drawings all over the cars.

Top Gear Rally is a bit dated I suppose, such as there never being more than 2 cars onscreen at the same time. While Sega Rally, the game it was gunning for, has aged better, I bet you'd of liked it a lot back in 1997 just like most did.

It's a game that really grows as you play it and start to discover the different weather which was a novelty at the time, the much faster cars later in the game, etc. The basic looking but clean and smooth looking graphics are much better than the norm for 3D console racers in 1997, which tended to be choppy, pixelated, and ugly. The basic 4 point suspension system also was neat with the wheels that would react independently to the road, which was something that wouldn't become commonplace until the 360 era. And the cars each drove differently.

I haven't fired it up since playing it to death back in 2000 (Although I wasn't good enough to finish it), but the sequel on the N64 might be more up your alley with its more advanced graphics. The damage system really sticks out with that one. I especially loved how you'd occasionally overdo crossing deep water and drench the engine compartment, which would cause electrical issues that would kill your gauges or cause them to only work intermittently.

VideoGameCritic wrote:When I fired up Top Gear Rally the game warned me other data had been detected on the controller pack and I may not have enough room to save my progress. Are you telling me it couldn't figure that out for me?

I'm not certain, but I suspect this ambiguous warning has to do with the game's paint shop. You had to dedicate an entire controller pack to the game if you wanted to customize the paint scheme of a vehicle, as I recall.

Besides the weather conditions (And variable time of day, which I neglected to mention), I just remembered another thing with Top Gear Rally that was novel back in 1997. It had shortcuts. Some were rather obvious like short cutting the beach on the seaside track, but others could be well hidden.

I enjoyed the original game on my iMac back in the days... (But I believe it was indeed hard to find out where to go).

Carmageddon 64.. The worst example of what happens when you try to port an PC game to the N64 and do an Half-A**ed job doing so, I almost smashed the cart I have due to how bad it is. This game made a mockery of a Gaming legend for racing fans on PC. I have found memories of Carmageddon, and TDR 2000.. And now having used my wallet on PSN store I've snagged Carmageddon:Max Damage to see if they brought the game series back to it's throne.

Top Gear Rally wasn't exactly as great as they hyped it out to be, Sure it brought us some good "Hardcore" racing off-road and on road but it's unforgiving A.I. and controls were bad enough with an normal n64 controller, but the Steering wheel I have for the N64 made the situation even worse.. A lot of my friends believe that Top Gear Rally 2 is far better.

Regarding the grades, Carmageddon 64 does deserve an F- because it's a hack job of a game that controls badly, plays badly, and should never have been made to begin with. Top Gear Rally's grade should've been an F- as well.

Yeah, the original PC Carmageddon is a pretty decent game. The N64 port is a hideous joke.

Retrology wrote:At last an F- game for the N64!

I had to check to make sure that Superman wasn't already. Nope, just a plain F. I have to wonder what redeemed it from that extra minus; it's one of the most obviously incomplete and broken games ever released. There are cancelled prototypes that are less unfinished. It's barely a game.

Reiterating the comments of another poster Carmageddon was savaged on n64. They took away all the violence and made the blood green. I never played it but I heard it was a hatchet job.

Top gear rally. I have fond memories of it on the n64. It was a system that did not do car games very well. This one worked well. Probably a b for me.

I put it Carmageddon to my xbox 1 and so far it is very dated but that is good for a retro title. I get to play the car out of death race 2000 and can think I am Frankenstein. That in itself is good. The car models are okay but I have played forza horizon 2 so they are always going to look second best in comparison to that.
The game reminds me a bit of sanfranciso rush. Early days but so far a good c plus.

How about the two Vigilante 8 games on the N64? They're vehicular combat games like Carmageddon.

Disasters, or worthwhile efforts?