World Tour Racing


First thoughts on World Tour Racing CD - 6/12/97

I received my copy of WTR CD last night, and immediately took it to my system. Here are some first thoughts and observations on the game.

  • First surprise: no mention on the box that this is a CD game. IS2 at least had the little "Jag CD" sticker on it.
  • There's no shorcut during the intro, you seem to have to press the fire button on repeated screens before it finally brings up the menu.
  • There are some nice FMV sequences, including a brief one in Arcade mode featuring sound effects from the 2600.
  • The road is NOT t-mapped by default; you have to press 8 to enable it in game. I did not really notice a significant speed difference either way, though.
  • Some tracks are definitely faster than others. The city tracks, in particular, seem a bit slower (i.e. lower frame rate).
  • Control is dead on! Infinitely superior to Checkered Flag on the Jag. And with the ability to customize tires, spoilers, etc., you can really get tight control.
  • Graphics are really nice, there are lots of colorful objects (partially because some 2D sprites are used in game) compared to most other polygon games on the Jag.
  • Opponent AI is well implemented. Your opponents try to cut you off from passing without ramming you, and you can see them sneaking up on you in your rear view mirrors and do the same to them.
  • Two player mode is of course fun, but the frame rate suffers noticeably. It's still playable, and we had a good time. Thankfully, the graphics are reduced in size to match the smaller screen (a feature Super Burnout is sorely lacking).

So, where does that put the game in my opinion? It's a solid game for the Jag, utilizing polygons, colorful sprites, responsive control, and challenging AI to produce a fun game. On the downside, the frame rate is about 15-20 FPS, which feels a bit low for the game (it's sometimes difficult to gauge when you should start steering into a turn), and of course there is no memory track support and at least one hang (happened to me after I reset several times). You also lose your controller configuration when you reset, which is annoying.

Jaguar racing games ranking:

1 Super Burnout
2 Atari Karts
3 World Tour Racing
4 Power Drive Rally
5 Supercross 3D
6 Club Drive
7 Checkered Flag



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Contact Carl Forhan by email at: forhan@millcomm.com



Copyright © 1997 by Carl Forhan. All rights reserved.