VROOM! Literally
Entry posted by Atari 5200 Guy in Atari ST
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While going through some ST game images I came across the words "Vroom". No explanation. I have already seen some weird games on the ST so far so why not. Couldn't be any worse than some I've tried so far, right? In goes a blank disk, on it goes Vroom which I assumed was some sort of racing game with motorcycles. Disk done and to the ST I go. Insert disk, power on.
Once I saw the title screen and heard the music my spidey senses started going off. What did I just feed my ST? Where did all this fancy stuff come from? I grabbed the controller and figured out how to navigate the menu selections. Start Game! First track is Fuji. Nice. All those years of playing Pole Position should serve me well, right? Wrong. Remember the tight hairpin left turn most have went too fast around and ate a billboard? This game splits it into two short turns! And there's hills and single lane sections and cars stop or slow down unexpectedly in front of you. I must have a sick sense of humor because I would sometimes hit a car in front of me or a sign, go airborne like K.I.T.T., only to land and break my car or crash into another sign or a tree. At times it was comical.
This game is absolutely beautiful and comes with digitized sounds and music. Controls are simplistic since you really only have five switches to worry about when using the joystick. The mouse is used for some race modes of which I have yet to try out. My only issue is that the game's colors are for a PAL system and are a bit off on a NTSC system. Those with a TV/Monitor capable of handling the cycle differences might be OK with the faded color look. Those without such a display might not be able to enjoy the game. Speed? This game is fast! The ST doesn't slow down at all or at least I never noticed it.
So grab your ST and go VROOM! I highly recommend this one. I may have just found my reason to keep my ST out.
I forgot to write the rules to the game. Silly me. They are actually simple. The far right bar in the HUD display is your fuel. There is a little black line on that bar showing your fuel level. Keep an eye on it because if you run out then it's game over.
Races are won by passing the required number of cars per track. The first track requires 8 cars to be passed. Each track after that increases the number of passes by 3. An easy way to tell is to watch your HUD display. It will display cars of two colors: green and red. Green cars are the required cars and reds are extras. Try to maintain at least one red car in you pass count before you cross the finish line.
Learn the tracks. Sometimes going slow through the curve portions and then opening it up on straights can benefit you.
Edited by Atari 5200 Guy
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