Death Rally (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.5 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Chris Hudak
• Reviewed on: 02/14/1997
• Updated on: 05/01/2000
• Released on: 12/31/1996
• Originally published on GameSpot: Death Rally (PC) Review

When game reviewers get all misty-eyed and start fondly using phrases like 'old school,' 'back to the basics,' and even that most moronic (and oxymoronic) label of 'instant classic,' Death Rally is the kind of game they're talking about - a straightforward arcade-style workhorse with the kind of no-crap efficiency and shiny good looks of a car buff's rebuilt, bored-over 400 - all snug belts, steam-cleaned heads, and chrome-mesh tubing. Essentially, Death Rally is Sprint, grimed over and going into the final hairpin with evil on its mind (and maybe a few well-placed mines for the poor slob just a few lengths behind).

In this top-down racing gem, one to four players take the roles of racecar drivers vying for fame, money, prettier cars, and uglier weapons in an automotive competition so corrupt and dangerous it makes most of the ones Speed Racer drove in look like the Harvard Cup Chess Challenge by comparison. (Come to think of it, the driver faces you can choose from in the selection screen even look a little Speed Racer-ish, except for Duke Nukem. Yes, he's here too). After selecting your driver and the color of your Volkswagen Bug - for that's exactly what you get, at least to start with - you select various improvements such as armor, better tires, etc., most of which will be beyond your financial reach until you win a few races (for people who have played Sprint, this screen will be like coming home).

You can forget buying a better car for a while, as immediate repair and survival will be your chief concerns early on. Your first car has only a single machine gun, but you can give yourself some teeth in the Black Market screen, purchasing such goods and services as mines, spiked bumpers, rocket booster fuel... or even out-and-out sabotage on the car of the current race-circuit favorite (for people who have played Sprint, this screen will be like coming home, except you discover that Dad is running guns and Mom is operating a murder-for-hire ring out of the breakfast nook).

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