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Amiga Collections: MegaDisc
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MegaDisc 27 (1992-03)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 1 of 2)[WB].zip
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MegaDisc 27 (1992-03)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 1 of 2)[WB].adf
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Games
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Lotus_Turbo_II
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Lotus_Turbo_II
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Text File
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1992-03-30
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5KB
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98 lines
*******************************************************
* L O T U S T U R B O C H A L L E N G E I I *
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Game Review
by
Paul Mclachlan
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Lotus Turbo Challenge II came as a bit of a shock to me. After buying
Test Drive I & II and Chase HQ, I had come to expect slow and ugly
racing simulations. Lotus is different. Lotus has speed, and great
graphics, a combination which I had previously thought impossible.
Anyway, Lotus is brilliant. The rest of this review will be spent
telling you how foolish you are for not having bought it already.
First, a description of the game. Lotus is played while viewing your
car from behind. The car is about a quarter of the screen wide, and
reacts very realistically to your joystick movements. The object of the
game is to travel a certain distance, within the specified time limit.
This distance is subdivided into checkpoints, where your time limit is
reset. As an example, on level one, you have to reach the first check
point in about 50 seconds. However, you do not have a number of lives.
And you do not lose a life when you hit an obstacle. You simply bounce
back onto the road (if you were off-road when you hit the obstacle), and
slow down. Don't get me wrong. The bouncing is done very well, and
does not look 'faked'. The game can be compared to Chase HQ very
easily. You have a time limit, which continually counts down, and tends
to run out at the most frustrating times. You also are very vulnerable
to sliding off road, and hitting other cars. The two games also look
very similar. That however is it. The object of the game is very
different, and the playstyle of Lotus can be configured. Beginning to
sound like a utility, isn't it. Lotus' gameplay can be configured in a
number of ways. You can use the button to accelerate, or joystick up,
depending on your preferences. There is a simultaneous two-player
option, and also a computer link up option (Link up two computers and
play against each other). You can choose whether you want to drive an
automatic, or a manual vehicle, and you can also have the second player
playing on another joystick or the keyboard (good for single joystick
owners.)
The graphics in the game are very good, with visibility, and objects
varying from level to level. Once you have completed an entire level,
you are presented with a password, which may then be used to start you
on the new level. This is very useful, as it can get more than a little
frustrating, when working on, say level 3, to have to re-do levels 1 & 2
whenever you run out of time.
Now, I will describe the levels I can get up to, and what is in all of
them.
Level 1: The forest course
This level has typical forest scenery. Trees flash past as you whiz
along in 5th gear. At the higher check points there a logs on the road,
which, when you hit, you fly into the air. The practical purpose of
this is shown later, when there are rivers across the road, which slow
you down if you do not jump them. At the highest level checkpoint,
there are rock obstacles on the road, and with visibility at nil, as you
come over the top of a rise, can be very painful.
Level 2: The night course
This level is displayed in the city at night. You can rarely see more
than half the distance of the first level, but the road is much wider
than those on the first level. This level takes some skill, as not only
full throttle is required, but the ability to slow down, when taking a
particularly nasty corner. You can go through tunnels, in which the
sound of your vehicle changes, adding to the realism of the whole scene.
Level 3: The fog course
This level is once more in the country, but the fog is terrible, making
it hard to see. The fullness of detail of the game is shown, when,
objects do not just appear out of nowhere, they fade onto the screen,
accurately simulating the foggy conditions.
Well, that's it. That's as far as I can get. I have the feeling that
I go very close to the finish, on this level, but always run out of
time, just before I get there. I will keep trying though. The game is
very addictive, and, by the way, has a great intro tune. What more can
I say. Go out and buy it! I certainly believe it's worth it, and if
you're into car games at all, its definitely worth checking out. Even
if you loathe car games, you should look at this to see the speed that
it has produced on the good 'ole 500.
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