Hi, I bought Screamer Rally earlier today, here are my thoughts so far:-
Running on a P133, 32mb EDO, Righteous 3dfx
Good:
The circuits are all good and long with lots of variations of
scenary and surface. Car set up is perhaps a little trickier on this one
as opposed to S2 due to the more frequent surface changes/types - snow,
grass, tarmac, rock, gravel, mud etc. They all look fantastic, with so
much detail and some of the best textures I've seen. I don't seem to
have a fave track yet, whereas I loved Finland and Columbia in S2.
Sweden is a great track with lots of hairpin bends, although there isn't
so much snow on the circuit as the Finlad track in S2. The bonus track
is great!! A real challenge. I won't spoil it for people who got the
game or got that far yet, but its well worth going through the leauges
for. If anyone wants my game.dat, send me an email. This file should
allow you to access all the tracks. It won't give you the bonus car
(yet) cause I've not won the final league yet. :o)
The weather effects are vastly improved over S2. The fog effect is
incredible! Its just like....well....its JUST like fog!! :o) There is
also a random night driving section too. Its not actually dark like in
S2, more dusk, but the headlights are great. The beams look very
impressive, and move around as you go over the bumps etc. Its cool when
you see another couple of beams appear and realise another car is right
behind you!
The sounds all seem pretty similar to S2 - the cobbles, loose
surfaces etc - all great. The engine noises are unfortunately the same
too and are a bit of a let down. I was hoping for something more along
the lines of the cars in TOCA Touring car with the great transmission
whine.
The cars are better. They look more realistic and more familar than
the cars in S2. They are also very well drawn - very smooth and lots of
detail.
Bad:
I initially was quite disappointed at just how easy it was. I
completed each league - one after the other and now have access to all
the tracks. This is after only a couple of hours play. The difficulty
has now gone to the other end of the scale. I've played the final league
a couple of times now and you appear to be racing the bonus car, which
I'm assuming I get to drive if I win the league. I won't spoil it for
people who haven't got the game yet by telling you what the car is, but
its just SO fast and if you don't win the race, you can guarantee that
the bonus car will. I've finished the leauge in 2nd place behind this
car twice now - looks like it could be tough to beat, but I'm getting
there! :o)
It has crashed twice now - right in the middle of a championship.
The first time was under Win95, second time under Dos 6.2.
There seems to be quite a bit of texture break up on the road - lots
of annoying gaps where the textures don't quite sit together properly -
it spoils and otherwise gorgeous looking game.
The Screamer 2 3dfx patch supplied on the cd doesn't seem to work
for me. I've installed the patches as per the instructions, I get the
spinning 3dfx logo and then nothing, it just hangs. I have a minumum
installation of S2, so it could be that. Although the manual doesn't
state it only applies to a full install!!
Well there you go. I'd be interested to read what others think about
this game. On the whole I'm pretty happy with it, although just a bit
miffed about the S2 patch not working.
25 - Electronic Boutique.
[link lost in import: /~chart]
