Big Red Racing

Big Red Racing Review

But I gotta admit that the first time I took it for a spin, I couldn't find many nice things to say about it. Take the in-your-face commentary, which assaults you as soon as the game starts. I like crude, stupid humor as much as anybody, but this stuff - farts, belches, guffaws, and smart-ass remarks - was too retarded (and deliberate), even for me. And things didn't get much better once I picked a track and started a race: I found myself bouncing all over the place, just struggling to stay on the track for more time than I spent off it.

One thing I've learned reviewing games, though, is that ya gotta give 'em a second, third, fourth, or even fifth chance - after all, that's what somebody who bought the thing will do before they take the trouble to return it. So I went back to Big Red Racing, again and again and again - and about the fifth time around, the magic finally kicked in. Now I try a couple of races every day, made easier by the game's excellent performance in Windows 95. It's great to take a break from writing, fire up BRR, and run a few laps. And that commentary? I found out that you can turn it off if you don't like it.

Finding the best perspective for racing can be tricky: because the "in the driver's seat" view is almost worthless (you're bouncing around so much you can't see where you're going), you'll inevitably wind up using an external view. And I still find some of the vehicles (especially the helicopters) tough to control. The truth is, though, if you stick with it long enough, you'll find yourself winning some races - and feeling pretty damn good about it, too.

Once you get the hang of it, BRR's a real gas, especially in its multi-player mode. A racing sim it's not, but arcade fans should get a real kick out of it.

Gamespot