Favorite Variations - Street Racer

[BassGuitari]

For me, it's got to be Scoop Ball. It's one of the more clever and inventive games in the Street Racer suite, and is challenging enough to make a suitable "1-player" game (even though it's actually 2-4 players only) to play by yourself and try for a high score.

I also like Slalom in that regard. One of the more challenging games on this cart IMO.

Dodge-It with double obstacles is another good one, although chances are you're going to beat the computer even playing conservatively.

Even regular Street Racer is fun to go for a perfect 99-point game, where just two or three mistakes can cost you a perfect score. But it's not quite up there with Scoop Ball or Slalom as far as challenge.

Jet Shooter and Number Cruncher are pretty worthless without a second player, but become very competitive with a human opponent.

(Playing by myself, I set my difficulty switch to A in all games.)

I really like this cartridge. There's a lot of game here for such an early title.

[toiletunes]

I loved this game growing up! Slalom was like a home version of Taito's Alpine Ski (kind of sort of), and Scoop Ball was a favorite. Least favorite was Jet Fighter.

[jaybird3rd]

Based on comments I've heard him make about it in interviews, Larry Kaplan (the programmer of Street Racer) doesn't seem to think very highly of it, but I would have to respectfully disagree with him on that because I like it, too.

 

The first overhead 2D racing game that I ever saw was Speedway, one of the three pack-in games for the Magnavox Odyssey². I enjoyed it for what it was, but Street Racer is a much better take on the idea. When I was a kid, before I had the means to buy my own copy, I would read the game description in the Atari catalogs, and like you, I was very impressed by the number and variety of the game variations. That's probably when I first learned to appreciate the Atari's ability to let you "roll your own" game by mixing the options that you liked. Scoop Ball and Slalom would have to be my two favorites.

 

At family gatherings and the like, we usually end up playing Warlords or some other four-player game, but I should remember to add Street Racer to the mix next time; they'll probably laugh at the simplistic graphics, but I bet they'll have fun with it!

[jeremiahjt]

Do you two really need to have the same picture? I was really confused why you made two consecutive post instead of just making one.

[jaybird3rd]

Do you two really need to have the same picture? I was really confused why you made two consecutive post instead of just making one.

Heh ... it's not exactly the same picture. We're both proud members of the AtariAge "Hater Brigade": toiletunes created the "official" membership buttons shown in our avatars, and I chose to "pose" mine atop a genuine HICAP50B PCI capture card (made infamous by "The Mysterious Mr. Lee" of the Coleco Chameleon debacle). I usually update my avatar to pictures of my latest hardware projects when I get them to the prototype stage, so I'll probably be changing it soon.

[toiletunes]

*Disclaimer:

Nathan Strum designed the logo, but gave his kind permission for button use.

[+wongojack]

This is one of the original carts my family had. It is best with another player, but slalom stands out from the variations to actually keep a single player entertained. Sadly even with these accounts and my reminiscing, I doubt I'll play this one again for some time.

[BassGuitari]

Sadly even with these accounts and my reminiscing, I doubt I'll play this one again for some time.

Why be sad? Dust it off for a little while.

[+wongojack]

Doin other things mostly. Street Racer probably isn't going to make it through the entertainment choice triage any time soon.

[bradhig1]

Number Cruncher. Get 99 points and the game ends.