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F
DEVELOPER
Midway
PUBLISHER
Midway
AVAILABLE
Now
MEDIUM
Cartridge
PLAYERS
1-2
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ne has to wonder what's going through Midway's mind in terms of winning the racing video game market. I mean, they're up against the likes of F-Zero X, Top Gear Overdrive, and Electronic Arts' monstrous new Beetle Adventure Racing--and what do they contribute? An arcade port of a painfully average racing game. Like Cruis'n USA, Cruis'n World, and Off Road Challenge before it, California Speed is yet another speed bump for Midway on the road to making a likeable racing game. True, they managed to pull off said task with both Rush games, but all the other attempts have resulted in flat tires. It even seems that California Speed was programmed strictly for non-interest. The arcade game was novel enough--get a quick thrill racing through California in sports cars and driving through such things as a mall or a roller coaster. But the way it was ported...well, a couple of plays and you'll be back on the road with Beetle Adventure Racing.  Like I said, there are imaginative track ideas, but the game pretty much plays the same flat way throughout. You control a car and you avoid hitting obstacles and the other cars as you make your way to the finish. Then you do the same thing next track. There are no hidden paths and no bonus cars worth mentioning, but there are multiple endings (too bad they're useless). The graphics are very poorly done, showing a pixelated mess in numerous spots throughout each race, especially if you get close to different objects. Some humorous details stick out, particularly the UFO, but it's all just "been there done that" quality otherwise. Consider it a notch--barely--above Off Road Challenge.  The game's music is pretty average also. It tries to be funky but ends up sounding like something you wouldn't even tolerate from a drunken garage band. You're better off turning off the sound (if you haven't turned off the TV completely at this point) Sound effects are pretty good, but not too different from what was heard in the Rush racing games. The gameplay is flat and unrewarding. With nothing hidden to find or no treats awaiting your tireless pushing of the analog stick, you're left just to numbingly race through each track, trying to stay ahead of the merciless computer AI that constantly cheats in one-player mode to ensure you don't have any accidental fun as you go. This is a big "no-no" for Midway, a company that actually said this game was meant for younger gamers. Uh-huh...hey, little Jimmy just got seventh place again. How rewarding!  Worse yet, there's really no multi-player mode that is worth mentioning. You can only race two players on a split screen and the graphics are even worse in this mode. There's no major break-up to make it totally intolerable, but in comparison to other four-player romps like F-Zero X and Top Gear Overdrive, it just screams "first generation". I've had it, Midway. No more lame ports of your average arcade games, okay? I tolerated Cruis'n USA because I thought it was an accident. I put up with Off Road Challenge (briefly) because I thought you were still rusty. And I gave you a break on Cruis'n World because you managed to sneak a four-player mode in there. But I will not under any circumstances let my criticism go fair for California Speed. It's an unforgivable mess that owes some extras to reward the player and would have received a world of good with just a little more development time. Let's just hope Hydro Thunder goes smoothly on Sega Dreamcast, because if you flub that up, I'll be driving through your offices very shortly...and I don't mean on the hidden track in Rush 2.
-- Robert Workman
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