Death Race
System: NES
Release Date: 1990
Developer: American Game Cartridges
Publisher: American Game Cartridges
Genre: Driving
It’s a heavily armed cross-country race of destruction in Death Race! Capture the flags, kill gremlins, and find the exit before you get destroyed. Tune your futuristic vehicle into an unstoppable killing machine as you race through eight cities.
You begin by outfitting your vehicle. Change your guns to increase your rate of fire and range. Get a stronger engine to increase your acceleration and top speed. Upgrade your chassis to better your turn radius and armor. Try different tires to increase your grip. Missiles can be purchased to launch at enemies. Each of these pieces can be modified to increase the amount of benefit they give. Once I upgraded the turn radius of the best chassis it became totally unruly.
Go faster by holding up, turn left and right with those directions, brake by pressing down. There’s no reverse, which is kind of criminal. Gremlins walk around and can launch missiles at you. Run them over or gun them down with the A Button. A helicopter likes to show up and take pot shots at you, hit it with multiple missiles using the B Button to knock it out of the sky. There are radar silos that launch missiles at you, but I couldn’t figure out how to kill them. If you make it through all eight levels, you continue from the beginning on a higher difficulty.
Graphics: 2.0
It looks alright, but isn’t anything impressive.
Sound: 1.5
The music isn’t offensive, but it isn’t pleasant and the sound effects are adequate.
Gameplay: 1.5
This is a hand cramper for sure. I didn’t have much use for the missiles, as the helicopter took way too many to knock out of the sky.
Difficulty: 2.5
The flags are in the same spots all the time, so once you memorize those, it’s just fighting the controls.
Fun Factor: 1.0
It’s not a very enjoyable game, but at least the levels go by quickly.
Overall Rating: 1.7
Death Race earns a C-. I can’t say this is a particularly good or fun game, but it might scratch the vehicular combat itch you’re feeling.