Peak Performance
Publisher: Namco  Contact: 0881 505505 (UK)  Price: £59.99 (Import)
Game type: Racing sim  Release date: April '97 (Japan)

Players: One or two Options: Analogue Steering, Memory Card Requirements: Joypad Reviewed by: Spike Smith, The Tartan Cavern Order this game now

Peak Performance (Powerslide in the UK) on long term test now for four months and it's like an old friend. Whenever there was a dull moment in the office, the shrill sound of rubber being scorched onto the tarmac and that crazy Japanese music filled the air. Even though it was only half finished, this game still had enough cool features, and car handling which was just right, to bring die-hards back again and again. The big question was what would be sacrificed for the final version, and would it be as fast?

The most amazing thing about this oh-so-Japanese driving sim is the sheer choice. Right from the off you've got the keys to 21 prime Oriental hot hatches, and each is presented in an air conditioned garage which you can parade around at leisure. Each motor is a perfectly created polygon model, with transparent glass so you can see the interior, working lights which glow as opposed to just change from black to white, and all the surface detail you could want.

Pick one (a task in itself), get in and crank the ignition and you'll also notice every one has its own exhaust note and engine behaviour. The RX-7 is a racy buzz-bomb with all the finesse of an Exorcet missile, whereas the Lexus is far more refined and never loses its composure right up to the red line. The initial 21 (more can be earned later) are divided into classes A, B, C and D, with the latter referring to hillclimbing rally-prepared monsters like the Dodge Viper and a mad green buggy.

Group A cars are your basic family cars and low powered sports such as the MX-5 and MK2 Ford Escort. Group B gives you MR2s and 200SXs, and finally Group C is the heavyweight bruisers such as the mighty Supra and 300ZX. There's a distinct shortage of European metal, but you certainly can't complain about the variety. It will take you hours just to try each one!

YOKOHAMAS
The biggest criticism of Peak Performance comes early though, and it may put off those of you used to racing games from Namco. There is no discernible racing structure, so that when you finish a race in first place, you don't get an award ceremony, congratulations, or even a pat on the back. It just goes straight into the replay. Instead your time is recorded in a Ranking menu with minimal fuss ­p; big deal! Whereas Rage Racer showers the driver with cups, cash and birds, you can't help feeling let down and disenchanted with Peak Performance.

For high end thrills you must go looking yourself and fortunately the handling of the cars is enough to reduce racing fans to gibbering wrecks. The feeling of taking a mountain hairpin perfectly, with maximum opposite lock and the tyres just breaking grip as you exit, is momentous and you will want to do it again and again.

Luckily the trio of tracks in one and two player modes (there are two more in time trial) are full of enough twists and blind bends to test even the likes of Colin McRae. And there are even a few sneaky shortcuts for only the most skilled of drivers.

Unique features come thick and fast:

3-D polygon drivers who change gear and twirl the steering wheel through their hands according to your steering inputs. Pop-up lights which really work at night. Real illuminated cockpits. Wheels locking under braking. Peak Performance has it all, and the handling of the cars is so forgiving, it positively encourages you to fling them into the corners earlier and earlier, with tyre marks plastering the road and your vehicle lurching about on its active suspension.

Cars can be tuned too, just like Rage Racer, although in this game, you don't have to pay for it. The MR2 is a tail-sliding beast to start off with, but stiffen those shocks and springs, and fit some hard compound tyres and it is transformed into an automotive greyhound with Evo-stick on its paws.

Although uninspiring, the front end does give you plenty to muck about with, and despite not having a link-up mode, you do at least have two player split screen action in either horizontal or vertical modes, but the much talked-about joining of both players' screens when you are close is both clumsy and irritating.

MICHELINS
The Course Editor option is another first for PP, with the player being able to set up a driving proficiency course using cones, and then race it against the clock with a friend. It doesn't sound very exciting, but believe me, when you're trying to shave off tenths of a second, it's more tense than any Formula 1 race.

But for all its brash enthusiasm, PP does have some annoying points which mean it could never be a Play Classic game. First, there's no cockpit modes for any cars, and the road-level view is strangely tilted upwards so that the sensation of speed and traction is lost ­p; you feel like the car is always wallowing rather than taking the corners with pin-point precision.

Second, the other cars on the track make no noise, and therefore you can't hear them approaching and instigate blocking manoeuvres.

Third, and worst of all, the collision detection is laughably bad, and apart from a little grazing sound, you never feel as if you are knocking the other cars off their racing line. In fact if you are going fast enough, you will simply sail through slow back markers without a scratch. This is stupid, given that the developers have obviously spent so long on the finer points, they have forgotten some of the golden rules...

PIRELLIS
After countless hours of enjoyment, you'd have to say that Peak Performance is still a damn fine game, and one with unlimited long term appeal. The NTSC version reviewed here didn't slow down one iota, even with six cars on-screen, and maintained an almost coin-op-like frame rate. Although the graphics are not to everyone's tastes, being a little too colourful and garish compared to the now-fashionable realistic hues of Porsche and Rage Racer, they are detailed enough and more importantly don't affect the frame rate. Which would you rather have, a Van Gogh at a snail's pace or a Jackson Pollock at warp 9?

Peak Performance is immense fun, but it lacks the seal of quality that you get with Rage Racer or The Need for Speed 2. We also have some concerns about whether the PAL version can deliver on the NTSC version's sheer speed -- more on that when we see the finished conversion. Nevertheless, if you want something with bags of sideways action and don't mind importing your software, then this is the best there is.


Verdict: 85%