Al Unser Jr.'s Road To The Top
Go karts, snowmobiles, IROCs, and F1 - oh myGenre: racing - arcade
Publisher: Mindscape
Year: 1994
System: SNES
Gameplay Score: 3
Gameplay Notes:
Not too shabby. The framerate bogs down something fierce when multiple racers are on screen and there isn't a great sense of speed but the controls are decent. They're extremely simple, mind you. There's only one button - for gas obviously - and no buttons for braking, sharp turns, or anything else. So, it does get boring quickly. Controls are responsive and your car isn't floaty like SMK. It generally goes where you tell it to go.
Level Design Score: 4
Level Design Notes:
The gimmick of the game is the inclusion of five vehicles to race with - go karts, snowmobiles (uh, random), Chevrolet Camaro IROCs (misspelled as "IROC's"), and finally, Indy Cars, and a secret level with a dune buggy. It's such a weird, eclectic selection! The vehicles all control the same, just with slightly different terrain and speeds. The snowmobile and go kart levels have some hills while the car tracks are completely flat. Props for originality.
Theme Score: 3
Theme Notes:
I'm not a big racing fan, but this one has a novel story mode which tasks you with earning your way up the racing ladder from go karts to F-1 racing. Before a race Al Unser gives you advice or tells about his experience on the track which is kind of interesting. Again, props for originality anyway.
Art Style Score: 2
Art Style Notes:
This game released 3 years after F-Zero, 2 years after SMK, and a year after Top Gear 2 yet it looks and performs far below those games. It's ok, but with a choppy framerate, boring tracks, and limited animation. Again, not bad, but nothing to get excited about.
Audio Score: 1
Audio Notes:
Engine noise. Lots and lots of engine noise.
Overall Score: 59
Review ID: 25
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