GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 01/12/2001
- Updated on: 05/17/2006
- Released on: 12/13/2000
- Originally published on GameSpot: Speed Devils Online Racing Review
The original Speed Devils arrived during the Dreamcast launch with less fanfare than it deserved. A retooled port of the PC game Speed Busters, the game carried an arcade-style racing premise similar to that of Midway's Cruis'n series, but it added the ability for you to bet against computer-controlled opponents for money and sometimes even vehicles. That competition aspect of the game has been developed further in Speed Devils Online, where the focus, quite satisfactorily, is almost completely on online rivalry.
At the game's start, you're given the option to race online or offline. Choosing the latter lets you practice racing against computer-controlled opponents on any of the game's tracks. Opting for online brings you into your garage, where you choose a car to start with and then enter a lobby where you'll find players to compete against. Starting a race is easy - you either join a match that's waiting for players or create one based on a laundry list of options (track, weather, game type, number of laps, and so on) and wait for people to join you.
There are three main game types: standard, trial, and vendetta. Standard is a basic race where two to five players compete. Instead of earning money based on position on the course, you earn bonuses for finishing with the highest average speed, staying in the lead the longest, and earning the best lap time. In trial mode, you set a wager that other players must pay to enter the race and choose between one to four trials to challenge your opponents with. Trial choices vary from asking that players finish a race without damaging their car at all or never bust a radar, to the more traditional requests such as that their lap times progressively improve during the race (there are three laps per challenge) or that they finish with the highest average speed. The vendetta mode is the highest-stakes race; in it, two players race, and the winner takes his or her opponent's car.
In all three game types, you're awarded bonuses for breaking the speed limit when you drive directly under police radar. This lets you earn a few thousand dollars in a race in which you've placed last - a motivation that usually keeps people from quitting out on you after you take the lead. After you earn a few thousand dollars, you can purchase vehicle upgrades, such as a better engine, nitro boosts, and snow tires. Once you earn enough points, you move up into a new racing class - which are distinguished by letter assignments such as class D, class C, and so on - and you can then buy better cars. Unless you're really good at a track though, a good chunk of your money will go into overhead - repairing your car after each race.
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