Developer: Ubi Soft Publisher: Ubi Soft Release: 10/29/99 Genre: Racing
The Dreamcast has one of the biggest launch lineups of all time. What makes it so great is not the volume of titles but the number of genres covered. Short of RPGs and shooters there was something for almost everyone. Racing games were the most abundant day one with six out of nineteen titles. But they did not let up after that. While many were looking forward to Sega Rally 2 possibly the most overlooked DC racing game is Speed Devils. This unassuming little game impresses with solid controls and a meaty career mode and is a good way to kill a few days.
There were a lot of racing games in the Dreamcast launch window. But the majority were simulation racing games like Monaco Grand Prix and Flag to Flag. For arcade racing fans there was Hydro Thunder and Pen Pen Tricelon but we don’t talk about that game. Speed Devils is a port of an obscure PC racing game that most have never heard of. Despite that it has the control and madcap style of Midway’s arcade racers. But it also offers a lengthy campaign that gives it hours of fun. It was also good enough to get a re-release with online play but that is not the exact same game.
The championship mode casts you as an up and coming challenger in an underground racing league. The end goal is to challenge Driver X. A mysterious benefactor is interested in your progress and gives you a crappy car to start. This mode has multiple seasons with varying races around the world. You earn points based on your racing results in order to advance to the next class. Cash prizes are also part of your winnings as well. Cash plays a huge role in the campaign which is why there are so many ways to earn more money. You also earn cash based on a number of factors. These include speed, time in the lead, placement, and even breaking police radars scattered around the track.
What I like about the campaign is that it is not just a straightforward race to the finish. Each season has a variety of colorful competitors who are more than just goofy characters. Occasionally they will wager cash on the next race. If you win you get a massive cash incentive. In addition if you keep winning their challenges they will issue a vendetta with the stakes being your cars. Your benefactor will appear sporadically and issue challenges such as beating certain racers or keeping vehicle damage within a certain percentage. Succeed and you earn more cash, upgrades, or even new vehicles. These add a new element to the proceedings and are not only the fastest way to rise through the ranks but spice up each race. For a genre where “story” does not matter they do a good job making you invested in each race.
The controls lean on the arcade side meaning power sliding is possible. I found the controls to be solid and they adjust depending on the car. Cars are rated in breaking, speed, and acceleration and their performance varies. There is a large garage of vehicles to purchase so more than likely you can find at least one that fits your driving style. They run the gamut from modern (for the 90s) vehicles to 60s muscle cars and even a few esoteric ones. In addition you can buy parts to upgrade certain aspects to boost performance. That push and pull, of upgrading or saving up to buy a new ride determines the length of championship mode. It took almost ten hours for me to reach the end which is significant. I enjoyed it all the way through minus a few blemishes.
The track design is where Speed Devils stumbles somewhat. Speed Devils leans in to Cruis‘n territory in terms of its arcade nature and I don’t mean the controls. The tracks feature all manner of weirdness like T-Rexes, King Kong, and Jaws in Hollywood, UFOs and casinos in Nevada, and Aztec demons in Mexico. While odd they make the tracks memorable and add flavor. With plenty of twists and turns, multiple paths as well as shortcuts the problem is they are too long. A single lap can take almost five minutes which grows tedious no matter how much you enjoy the game. At three laps per race it feels grueling in long sessions. In addition while I like the wackiness of the tracks they are often confusing in their design and layout. A little more clarity and focus as well as brevity would make this first class.
Once you finish the campaign the game has a variety of other modes that give it extra life. Arcade mode lets you pick a track and run a single race. It is too bad there is no option to free run for practice. There are a number of competitive modes such as Distance Lag, Time Lag, and Attack and Defend. This one resembles Tokyo Extreme Racer in that the goal as the defender is to keep the attacker from staying in the lead for a certain amount of time. It is not as deep as that game but still a welcome addition. Multiplayer is limited to two players unfortunately. The four controller ports are right there which is disappointing, especially as the framerate remains solid unlike many N64 racers.
In Closing
I like Speed Devils a lot. I went in to this one with very few expectations and it exceeded them. It is not that I thought it was bad; reviews across the board were all solid. But sometimes a game with a low profile warrants some caution. I am glad to say Speed Devils has a lot to offer, whether you prefer a solid campaign or multiplayer. The only thing that would have put it over the top aside from slightly shorter courses is online play. But that would come later.
