Vroom Longplay (Amiga) [QHD]

Game Info
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Developer: Lankhor
Publisher: Lankhor
Year of Release: 1992

Game Review & Impressions
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When it comes to the Amiga, the machine had some genuinely impressive racing games. Lotus Turbo Challenge 2, Crazy Cars III and Jaguar XJ220 proved the machine could handle 2D sprite scaling racers just as well as the console competition, and were probably the three titles most synonymous with the genre, and among the most popular.

But what if I told you there was another contender? One which you may have never heard of, let alone played. I'm definitely one of those people, and it's real shame, because Vroom is one of the best games in its class.

I was more familiar with Lankhor's Jerome Lange adventure games, particularly Maupiti Island, but they were also responsible for Vroom. This take on Formula 1 racing is genuinely impressive, boasting great visuals, a selection of tracks to choose from, arcade and simulation racing modes and, best of all, it runs as a decent pace on the A500.

The buildings which adorn the track -- pit lanes, bridges and such -- appear to be made from vectors, rather than sprites. The roadside furniture, player cockpit and opposing vehicles appear to be sprites, although the game does something very clever with the latter when you look closely. Get up behind another vehicle and you'll notice the perspective of the car changes as you weave left and right, resulting in a really convincing 3D effect, probably the best I've seen in this kind of game.

When it comes to game modes, Arcade Mode (seen in this video) has you racing each of the six circuits in turn, with the objective to pass as many cars as possible before the end of the race; you need to pass the requisite number of opponents to qualify for the next race, else it's game over and back to the main menu. By contrast, Racing Mode aims to be more of a simulation. Each race starts with a qualifying session, where your lap time determines your position on the starting grid. The races operate like real-world F1, where you'll want to finish the race in as high a position as possible to earn more championship points.

The game mode you choose also affects the handling of your car, and it's with this aspect that the game lets itself down. Whenever you turn into a corner you'll notice your car tends to rebound off the inside of the rumble strips to try and keep you on the track, provided you're not driving too fast. This system is far less forgiving in Racing mode, and, somewhat weirdly, the game seems to take over the steering when you're in the middle of corners. It's really quite disconcerting -- it feels like you're just operating the gas peddle and the game is handling the driving for you. I couldn't get on with this arrangement using the joystick controls, and mouse mode was borderline useless, so I went back to the Arcade mode, which behaves perfectly.

If the controls weren't quite so weird in Racing mode, Vroom might well have been the best racing game on the Amiga, or at least in the top three. If there had been an option to play the Racing mode with the arcade handling, this would have been absolutely perfect. As it stands, arcade mode is still great fun, and I have no hesitation in saying this is one of the best driving games on the Amiga, well worth taking for a spin.

Chapters
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TBC