Wacky Races Longplay (C64) [50 FPS]

Developed by PAL Developments and published by Hi-Tec Software in 1992.

The game is based on the cartoon series by Hanna Barbera. As Dick Dastardly, you must compete in 6 horizontally scrolling races and reach/exceed the minimum finishing position stated at the start of each race in order to progress to the next level.

Your car comes equipped with some kind of jabbing spear that can be used to kill enemies such as frogs, boulders other objects that get in the way of you securing that elusive 1st position. It can also be used to take out cars of the other drivers, which seems like the sort of thing Dick Dastardly would do.

After each race there is a very simple platforming section where you must collect all of the parts of a trap to be used to blow up the car of another racer. Once you collect a part, you must return it to Muttley, who will assemble it.

I chose this game at random and I'd never played it before doing this longplay. The racing section isn't bad, but there are too many situations where you need to jump across a gap, only to have the game throw an enemy at you as you're landing at short notice and can catapult your car into the chasm you'd just jumped.

The trap-building sections are really dull and uninspired. The graphics are terrible and I didn't even realise what the "Muttley" sprite was meant to be until dropped a trap piece on it and it started walking! Similarly, working out where the ladders are can be difficult since they don't really stand out.

There is only one solitary tune on the title screen and no music during the game. The player car has a very droning engine sound and there's a basic set of bleeps and bloops when jumping and attacking.

The game has a very lengthy multi-load between races that can get considerably tiresome.

My verdict: not terrible, but nothing special either.

Enjoy!
#retrogaming