Games that remind me of my childhood Number 15 : Stunt Car Racer (Commodore 64)

When I was young, nothing beat getting up and 6:30am, waiting for the postman (yes, back in the day when he came before most people woke up) to deliver a brand new game.  I vividly remember getting this one, and waiting by the kitchen window for the postman to pop it through the letterbox.

Stunt Car Racer is a slick racing game, created by Geoff Crammond who is famous for games such as Revs, The Sentinel, and the Formula One Grand Prix series of games.  I first played this game on a friends Amiga A500 and was blown away by the realistic 3d graphics, and crazy tracks.  When I found out that it was available on the Commodore 64 as well, I knew I had to get it.

 

Don't be put of by the graphics - they move incredibly fast

 

Unfortunately for the Commodore 64, solid vector graphics were not one of the systems strengths, but amazingly enough Geoff Crammond was able to squeeze the whole game in to a single load, and keep the solid polygons (and more importantly, speed) more or less the same as its 16-bit counterpart.  Obviously the game runs at a lower resolution, and there are not as many colours, but it runs amazingly well for an 8-bit 3D racer.

From the main menu, there are two playing modes to choose from – Practice, and Start The Racing Season.  Selecting Practice allows you to play any of the 8 tracks available on offer, although you will not be able to race any opponents – it’s just you and the road.

By beginning a Racing Season, you start the game in Division 4, and the aim is to win each race and work your way up to Division 1.  Obviously, as you progress through the divisions, the tracks get even more deadly, and more difficult.  Also, during each race you must also compete against opponents. 

 

Oops...  I fell of the track!

 

Because of the 3d nature of the game, incredible crashes could be achieved.  One of my favourites was ‘accidently’ falling of the top of the “The Rollercoaster”, and watching my car plummet to the ground in first person view.

An amazing game, which I still play quite regularly today.

 

The Tracks

 

The Box (Front)

 

The Box (Back)

 

The Tape

 

Random Retro Memory - Playing this game will always remind me of the day my sister told me that I was going to be an uncle for the first time!  My friend Andrew was round our house one evening after school, and we were playing this game in the living room, when my sister called me upstairs to tell me the news!