Reviewed by: Funkadelic
Rated: 
Posted on: 05/30/00
Speed Devils, a port of Ubi Soft's outrageous PC racing game, Speed Busters, was trashed by quite a few video game publications when it was released for the Dreamcast late last year. Those who didn't trash the game recommended waiting for a bigger and better arcade racer to come along. Well, for all intents and purposes, such a game has yet to be released for the Dreamcast. Granted, there are many arcade-style racers — such as Crazy Taxi, Roadsters, Test Drive 6, and 4 Wheel Thunder — available for the system, but games like Crazy Taxi and 4 Wheel Thunder offer different types of racing experiences. On the other hand, Test Drive 6 and Roadsters, which especially tried hard to one up Speed Devils when it was released, are titles that offer a similar type of experience. However, neither of those games deliver a significantly better racing experience than Speed Devils, nor did they receive better reviews.
If there is one problem with Speed Devils it's that it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. There are countless numbers of arcade racers that feature high-performance sports/muscle cars in which players race around hazard-filled tracks with shortcuts aplenty. However, Speed Devils takes this premise to the next level with its scripted events, such as the menacing T-Rex that roams about on the Hollywood track, and variety of well-placed shortcuts. Furthermore, each of the 17 drivers in the game have unique personalities that reflect his or her style of driving: some are slow and cautious, while others are mean and downright dirty racers (i.e., certain drivers will deliberately try to ram you off the road). There are also a variety of hot rods to choose from (11 in all) that vary in performance and style (there are an abundance of selectable skins for each car) and can be fully upgraded in Championship mode. It's with the wonderful track design, eclectic mix of drivers, and wide range of cars where Speed Devils succeeds in delivering a satisfying racing experience.
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| How can you go wrong with a game that features a menacing T-Rex? |
Control and gameplay in the game is arcade style all the way. In fact, Speed Devils is an arcade racer's dream come true, featuring plenty of wild crashes (resulting in visual damage), wicked jumps, and insane nitro boosts! You can choose between automatic and manual transmission, with manual transmission perhaps being the only realistic element in the game. The control scheme is that of your basic Dreamcast racing game: the triggers control acceleration and braking, while the A, B, X, and Y buttons control other functions, like nitro boosts, hand brake, and reverse. The D-pad is used to switch between four available views and also allows you to look behind your car to see if anybody is on your tail.
If you are looking for an arcade-racing game that you can play for some time to come, Speed Devils may be just the title for you. The game offers a fun-filled Arcade mode and a more involved Championship mode, in which players must customize and upgrade their car(s), meet track goals to win money, accept challenges and bets from other racers, and advance through several classes in order to win. The main idea behind Championship mode is to try to make it to the final racing class (Class A), where the mysterious Driver X awaits. Beat him and victory is yours! There are also a variety of two-player modes that supply a huge amount of replay value. Plus, each of the tracks can be raced under a different set of conditions: weather and time of day control, reverse/mirror mode, time attack, etc. While many of today's racing games include most of these features, they nevertheless add to the replay value in Speed Devils.
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| Slick wheels! |
Still, all is not well with the game. The tracks, of which there are 12, may be littered with a bunch of destructible objects (signs, cones, barrels, etc.) and contain lots of flavor, but they stretch on forever, which ends up detracting from the overall track design. Visually, the tracks are pretty solid and varied, but there are points on each track where the racing becomes monotonous, owing to the three long laps that make up each race. And while the graphics are pleasing, they definitely have a first-generation look about them. This is more likely the result of the quick PC-to-DC port than it is an issue of the Dreamcast's graphical abilities. As we all know, the Dreamcast is capable of delivering spectacular-looking graphics with ease, making Speed Devils look a bit dated when compared with recent titles. The sound effects, however, are great and really get the juices flowing, with loud engine sounds, screeching tires, and ambient sound effects to help immerse you in the game. Music is decent, offering several different styles based on the location of the track, but repetitive nonetheless.
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| Will you be able to escape natural disaster? |
All in all, Speed Devils is a highly enjoyable, addictive racing game that has a lot going for it. With a variety of tracks, drivers, cars, and ways to race, Ubi Soft's arcade-racing effort is definitely worth a look for fans of the genre. If you can find a new or used copy for a reasonable price, I recommend picking it up. If not, you can always wait for the next Speed Devils, which is said to feature online play!
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