Geoff Crammond’s Stunt Car Racer was a swansong for the 80’s, an Amiga-led title that not only featured chunky 3D vectors but also threw the racing rulebook out of the window by introducing massive jumps, banks and the kind of rollercoaster courses kids my age could only dream of. It also featured a basic LAN-based two player mode, and although affording two Amiga’s was way out of most gamers’ leagues if you had a cheap (made by your dad) link cable the multiplayer was an absolute delight.
For reasons beyong the comprehension of most retro gaming fans, the iPhone platform hasn’t exactly been alight with 16-bit conversions – although the Spectrum has started to come to life with a couple of emulators dedicated Amiga ports would be well received with Apple’s slightly more mature ownership. Thankfully, Australian developers Sector 3 have spotted this gap in the market, and have taken the best bits of Stunt Car Racer and wrapped them all up in something that could well be brilliant.
As it stands, Fumes Stunt Racer’s inspiration is obvious, and unhidden. The viewpoint is indentical, the speed of the vehicle is similar and the handling, whilst a little sharper and bolstered with mild drifting mechanics, is close enough to make the transition nice and smooth. You’ll notice the graphics are clearly influenced by Crammond’s original, too, and some of the tracks – Ski Jump for one – are at least named the same. All this tells you one thing rather clearly: fans of Stunt Car Racer will love what Sector 3 have done.
It’s good, but it’s not perfect. The one-on-one battles are missing meaning it’s just you against the clock, and the tournament structure seen on the Amiga classic is entirely absent, your progress through the tracks a simple matter of obtaining at least a bronze time. Still, the developers assure us this will change very soon – the introduction of AI drivers and at least 7 new tracks will follow the initial release, alongside Game Center integration and at least one new game mode.
As it stands, Fumes is a nice diversion but one that teases with future potential. The graphics could do with a frame rate boost (it would be lovely to see this running at 60 frames per second) and without any opponents on the track it’s limited to a solitary time trial rather than anything more complex, but all that’s to come in the near future – the nature of iPhone games is that they continue to evolve over the lifespan of the product, and with Fumes’ roadmap laid out for all, we’re hoping for big things.
Now, where’s Chaos Engine?
Fumes Stunt Racer is out on the 13th of October, priced at £1.19. Screenshots taken directly from an iPhone 4.
MegaBonez
I used to love SCR, I had it on Commadore 64. Unfortunately, I don’t have an iPhone!!
shields_t
Wicked, that one’s a defo purchase, so many memories.
bunimomike
I utterly adored Stunt Car Racer but I’m half tempted to leave it in the past. It really was a game to play against a mate (as I did so frequently). Top review, nofi.
GhostViper
Oh yay. It’s the game I’ve been looking for since I was little every since I played it with a relative. Hope it works on the first iPod touch.
jacklum
Stunt Car Racer was fantastic. Is Geoff Crammond still developing games? Haven’t heard from him since the last Microprose Grand Prix game.
Tuffcub
How an earth can they get away with such a rip off? Even the map previews are in the red and white stripes.
online4ntagonist
haha Chaos engine….nice one. good memories.
Stunt car racer aswell, if they put it on the psn it’s a definite buy for me. Alas I also don’t have an Iphone.
Moakesice
I loved SCR, i think i had it on the Amiga, was well gud, abit poo poo now though!
minerwilly
I loved this on my mates Amiga , im sure i eventually got a copy on the Spectrum ! What am amazing machine that was , i was just thinking about a great game i had on Speccy before called Driller , it was vector 3d crazy and had all these eygytian themes . Immense game and it came in a rather cool box unlike most games of it time . Anyone else remember it ?