Game release date: December 1990
Developed by: Tengen
Review date: October 26, 2015
Review by: ComradeOj
Released to arcades in 1989, Hard Drivin' was one of the earliest polygonal racers. Notable features include an instant replay feature, and more realistic handling than other racers of the time. Hard Drivin' and it's sequel, Race Drivin' was ported to many console and home computers including: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari Lynx, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS PC, Game Boy, Gamecube, Genesis, PS2, Saturn, SNES, and the ZX Spectrum.
Gameplay is simple. Race along the track and get the lowest time possible. There is a single track with two different paths. Get to the finish fast enough and you'll face off against the racer Phantom Photon.
Gameplay: 2/10
The extremely low frame rate makes this game tough to enjoy. It's very choppy, even on my 10MHZ 68010 modded genesis. There is a lack of lot of content too, only one car and one track. Gameplay is repetitive.
Graphics: 3/10
While the 3D visuals are technically impressive, the graphics are unappealing, and have aged like milk.
Sound: 3/10
There isn't much sound to be heard. You mostly just hear the rumble of your engine, or the screeching of your tires. The few tunes that exist are average.
Hard Drivin' was too ambitious for the Genesis. Atari took a game designed for expensive custom arcade hardware and tried to make it work on a cheaper, less powerful console. While the 3D visuals are impressive from a technical point of view, it doesn't make up for the low frame rate and lack of content. Today, Hard Drivin' can be found for a few dollars and is worth buying just to watch your Genesis push some polygons, or to test out that overclock mod.