Highway 2000 (video game)

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Highway 2000
Highway 2000 video game cover.jpg
European cover art
Developer(s) Genki [1]
Publisher(s)
Platform(s) Sega Saturn [2]
Release
  • JP: December 15, 1995 [4]
  • JP: August 9, 1996 (Real Arrange)
  • EU: September 1996 [2]
  • NA: November 1996 [3]
Genre(s) Racing [2]
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer [2]

Highway 2000 (known in Japan as Wangan Dead Heat [a] ) is a 1995 racing video game developed by Genki for the Sega Saturn. The Japanese version takes place on the Wangan route of the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo. [5]

Contents

An updated version, Wangan Dead Heat + Real Arrange [b] , was released in 1996 for the Saturn. Two further games in the Wangan series were released in Japan in 1998: Wangan Trial for the PlayStation and Wangan Trial Love for the Sega Saturn. [6] [7]

Gameplay

The player can choose from three sports cars and race across five highways against either human or computer opponents, or against the clock. The two-player mode is called "Battle Mode" and is done in split screen. Three camera angles are available: two from outside the car and one from the inside. The game stands out by letting players choose a glamorous female co-driver from ten options, who critiques their performance (the European version features different actors in the full-motion video (FMV) sequences compared to the Japanese version). The player must finish first on each track to advance to the next level. [2]

Release

The game was initially set to be released on December 8, 1995, but was eventually released on December 15, 1995. [5] [4]

An updated version, Wangan Dead Heat + Real Arrange, was released in Japan on August 9, 1996. It features new co-drivers and the car handling has been changed. A second disc is included with the game that contains video clips. It supports the Movie Card accessory which improves video quality. [8]

Reception

Saturn+ called the co-driver idea "a cheap gimmick" and the game overall "pretty naff". [14] Mean Machines Sega's reviewer said the graphics are "shoddy", the sound is "painful", and the FMVs are "tacky". The other reviewer from the magazine said the controls and graphics are "standard" with the babes being the only notable aspect of the game. [2] GamePro called it "the worst-performing racing game in recent memory". They recommended Daytona USA instead.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Japanese: 湾岸デッドヒート
  2. ↑ Japanese: 湾岸デッドヒート＋リアルアレンジ
  1. ↑ "Genki Home Page - Game History". Genki (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 24 January 1998. Retrieved 29 December 2024. SS: 湾岸デットヒート
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dan; Marcus (October 1996). "Saturn Review - Highway 2000". Mean Machines Sega . No. 48. EMAP. pp. 62–63.
  3. 1 2 3 Johnny Ballgame (December 1996). "Reviews - Saturn - Highway 2000" (PDF). GamePro . No. 99. International Data Group. p. 144. Fun Factor: 2.0 (out of 5)
  4. 1 2 "Coming Soon Soft - Wangan Dead Heat" (PDF). Sega Saturn Magazine (Japan) (in Japanese). Vol. 13. SoftBank. 8 December 1995. pp. 158–159.
  5. 1 2 "Coming Soon Soft - Wangan Dead Heat" (PDF). Sega Saturn Magazine (Japan) (in Japanese). SoftBank. 1 December 1995. pp. 156–157.
  6. ↑ "Review - Nippon-Corner - Wangan Trial". Fun Generation (in German). No. 29. CyPress  [ de ]. March 1996. p. 111.
  7. ↑ "Wangan Trial Love [advertisement]" (PDF). Sega Saturn Magazine (Japan) (in Japanese). Vol. 8. SoftBank. 20 March 1998. p. 193.
  8. ↑ "Coming Soon Soft - Wangan Dead Heat + Real Arrange" (PDF). Sega Saturn Magazine (Japan) (in Japanese). Vol. 13. SoftBank. 9 August 1996. pp. 166–167.
  9. ↑ Stephan Girlish; Julian Ossent (March 1996). "SpieleTests - Dead Heat". Fun Generation (in German). No. 3/96. Vogel Verlag und Druck  [ de ]. p. 49.
  10. ↑ Andreas Binzenhöfer; Philipp Noack (December 1996). "Spiele Tests - Highway 2000". Fun Generation (in German). No. 12/96. CyPress  [ de ]. p. 95.
  11. ↑ Bannert, Robert (24 October 2018). "Highway 2000 – im Klassik-Test (SAT)". M! Games  [ de ] (in German). Cybermedia. Archived from the original on 29 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  12. ↑ Chon (November 1996). "Vite Vu - Highway 2000". Player One  [ fr ] (in French). No. 69. Média système édition  [ fr ]. p. 124.
  13. ↑ "Sega Saturn Soft Review - Wangan Dead Heat + Real Arrange" (PDF). Sega Saturn Magazine (Japan) (in Japanese). Vol. 13. SoftBank. 9 August 1996. p. 219. Three reviewers with scores out of ten: 5+4+7=16
  14. 1 2 "Wan Gan Dead Heat review" (PDF). Saturn+ . No. 2. Paragon Publishing. April 1996. p. 63.
  15. ↑ "Esporte Total - Wangan Dead Heat". Super GamePower  [ pt ] (in Portuguese). Vol. 3, no. 25. Nova Cultural  [ pt ]. April 1996. p. 48.
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