Battlecars (video game)
Battlecars | |
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Developer(s) | SLUG |
Publisher(s) | Games Workshop Summit Software |
Designer(s) | SLUG Julian Gollop |
Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum |
Release | 1984: Games Workshop 1987: Summit |
Genre(s) | Vehicular combat |
Mode(s) | Multiplayer, Single-player |
Battlecars is a vehicular combat game released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984.[1][2] It is based on Games Workshop's miniature wargame, Battlecars. The game is set in 2084 in a future where road accidents have been eliminated by technology, and the world is relatively bloodless; however, people now entertain themselves by drivers using 20th century automobiles in violent, gladiatorial contests.[2]
Gameplay
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b5/Battlecars.gif/220px-Battlecars.gif)
Up to two players battle each other or the computer with vehicles that use an assortment of armor, weapons, and other components including missiles, mines, machine guns, lasers, oil, and smoke.[1] Players can fight their cars on a racetrack, in an arena (the Autodrome), or on the streets of Slug City.[1] On the racetrack, players navigate through a narrow circuit, competing primarily against rough terrain and a clock.[1] The Autodrome is a bare arena where two cars can focus on battling each other.[1] Slug City is a townscape where cars could battle each other on narrow streets.[1] A player can play against the computer or a second player in either the racetrack or Autodrome; however, players can only play each other in Slug City.[1][3]
Except for when racing on the racetrack, the primary goal of the game is to find your opponent and destroy their car.[3] Players can take advantage of gas stations and service garages to obtain fuel or repairs, but using either makes a player vulnerable to attack from their opponent.[3] A notable gameplay element at the time of the game's release in 1984 was that cars would realistically "drift" when they tried to turn at a high rate of speed.[3]
When playing a game, players are presented a screen that shows the area in which they are driving their car, a map of the entire venue, the current speed and fuel of their car, any damage it receives, and information about available weapons.[1][2][3] When there are two players, each player has their own playing screen on the computer monitor.[3] The game is played using twelve keys on a keyboard to control each car and its weapons.[1][2] The game has eight car configurations from which players could choose.[1] Battlecars also comes with a program, Designer, which allows players to customize the vehicles they want to use in battle.[1][2]
![Image depicting two different players engaged in Battlecars gameplay on the same screen.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/dc/Battlecars_Gameplay.gif/220px-Battlecars_Gameplay.gif)
Development
Battlecars was developed for the ZX Spectrum by SLUG (a Harlow co-operative of ex-programmers from Red Shift) using BASIC.[1][2][3][4][5] Julian Gollop notably developed the Designer program which allows players to edit the cars in the game.[2][4][6] Games Workshop released Battlecars as a computer game for the ZX Spectrum in 1984.[1][2][3] The game came with a sixteen-page instruction manual.[2] Summit Software re-released the game in 1987.[5][7]
Reception
Representative of the game's positive reception, Bob Wade reviewed Battlecars for Personal Computer Games, calling the game "a bleak view of an automative future but terrific to play".[1] Roger Kean previewed Battlecars in Crash #9 (October 1984), calling it "rather more straightforward than one would expect from a company so immersed in the occult", and described the handling of the game's high speed vehicles "quite alarmingly realistic".[3]
Representative of the game's negative reception, Computer and Video Games was critical of Battlecars, saying "It's one thing to have a good idea for a game, but another one to actually write the program."[2] Your Sinclair elaborated on this criticism a few years later by noting "the horrid thing kept crashing on me."[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wade, Bob (February 1985). "Screen Test - Spectrum - Battlecars". Personal Computer Games: 32 – via Archive.org.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Reviews - Battlecars". Computer and Video Games. 39: 20 & 25. January 1985 – via Archive.org.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "From Tin Soldiers to Computer Games"; CRASH issue 9, October 1984; retrieved from CRASH The Online Edition
- ^ a b "Julian Gollop | Retro Gamer". Retrieved 2017-06-17.
- ^ a b c "Reviews - Battlecars". Your Sinclair. 34: 95. October 1988 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Bickham, Al (2010-11-28). "The Story of X-Com". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
- ^ "Battlecars - World of Spectrum". www.worldofspectrum.org. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
Other references
Super Play #12 (October 1993) featured a preview of Battlecars.
External links
- Battlecars at SpectrumComputing.co.uk