Porsche Challenge | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | SCE Studios Soho |
Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
Programmer(s) | Mark Green Richard Lee Allan Murphy Michael Braithwaite Paul N. Stapley |
Artist(s) | Jason Millson Sam Coates David Hamblin Ravinder Singh Rolf Mohr |
Composer(s) | Jason Page |
Platform(s) | PlayStation |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Racing |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Porsche Challenge is a racing video game developed by SCE Studios Soho and published by Sony Computer Entertainment released for the PlayStation. The player and computer-controlled cars in the game consist of Porsche Boxsters.
Players must choose one of the Porsche Boxsters at the start of each race and race around tracks trying to win. Each car has a different driver and each driver has a different personality. The drivers can comment on how other drivers drive and their relationship with the other drivers can affect this as well. Usually they say how bad the other drivers are and how they are better.
There are three types of races for each track:
The game also features time trial and practice modes.
Development on Porsche Challenge began in 1995. [3] The license agreement with Porsche allowed the game designers to work with Porsche employees in order to accurately model the Boxster's appearance and performance. [3] Each of the six drivers were individually motion captured to create their own distinctive animations. [3]
As is common in the racing genre, Porsche Challenge was programmed with a "catch-up AI", which causes AI-controlled cars to drive faster and more skillfully when a player car is ahead of them than when they are in the lead. [3]
Following the game's release in Europe, according to Next Generation it "oddly languished in limbo for months until SCEA decided to pick it up for release in the U.S.", scheduling it for August 1997. [4]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | 73% [5] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7/10 [6] |
GameRevolution | 3.5/5 [7] |
GameSpot | 5.5/10 [8] |
Next Generation | [9] |
Porsche Challenge received an average score of 73% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 12 reviews. [5] In August 1998, the game earned a "Platinum" award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD), [10] indicating sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. [11]
Though most critics concluded that Porsche Challenge is a competent title which falls far short of greatness, [6] [7] [8] [12] otherwise reactions to the game varied widely and sometimes contradicted each other. For example, while Next Generation , Game Revolution , and Dean Hager of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the car's handling as indistinguishable from driving a real Porsche boxster, [6] [7] [9] GamePro , Glenn Rubenstein of GameSpot , and Hager's co-reviewer Kraig Kujawa all contended that the realism of the handling makes the racing frustrating and less enjoyable. [6] [8] [12] Where Hager found the characters "goofy" and opined that they should have been gotten rid of, [6] and GamePro said that the selection of characters has no impact on the gameplay, [12] Next Generation, one of the few publications to give Porsche Challenge a positive recommendation, asserted that "The presence of six different drivers, each with a unique driving style, takes care of the problem of having just one kind of car." [9]
Kujawa found that where Porsche Challenge falls short is that it lacks the excitement of top-line racing titles. [6] Rubenstein, in addition to criticizing the unrealistic graphics and weak sense of speed, felt that the game simply fails to distinguish itself among the glut of racing games coming to market, leaving gamers "just as well-off waiting for the next driving game to hit the market, which will most likely be in about a day or two." [8] While contending that the game has outstanding sound effects and "some of the most realistic graphics we’ve seen", Game Revolution also cited a lack of excitement, and added that the small RPM display further keeps the game from having impact. [7] GamePro judged that the game needed more tracks to have true "staying power", [12] though most critics found that the variations in the tracks which open up during play gives the game plenty of longevity. [7] [8] [9]
Microsoft Flight Simulator 98, abbreviated commonly as FS98, is a flight simulator video game. It was released in September 1997 for Microsoft Windows.
Driver is an action driving video game and the first installment in the Driver series. Developed by Reflections Interactive and published by GT Interactive, it was released on the PlayStation on 25 June 1999. The game, inspired by movie car chases, sees players driving around four real-life cities – Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York – using a variety of vehicles, with the plot focusing on the work of an undercover police officer, John Tanner, who infiltrates a criminal outfit to investigate their operations, only to discover a plot by their boss to assassinate the President of the United States.
Grand Prix 3 is a computer racing simulator by MicroProse, released in 2000 by Hasbro Interactive.
Stronghold is a historical real-time strategy video game developed by Firefly Studios and published in 2001 by Gathering of Developers for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game focuses primarily on conquest and expansion through military pursuits but also has prominent economic and infrastructure development elements. There is both an economic and a military campaign to be played and both are discussed in the game manual. In the English version, the game takes place in Medieval Britain around the year 1066; however, since there is not always a time limit, scenarios can continue hundreds of years beyond that date.
Need for Speed II is a racing video game released in 1997 for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is a part of the Need for Speed series and is the second installment, following The Need for Speed.
Need for Speed: High Stakes is a 1999 racing video game developed by EA Canada and EA Seattle and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the fourth game in the Need for Speed series and a follow-up to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. The game features more realistic elements than its predecessors and introduced a damage system that allows cars to take damage when colliding with objects, affecting their appearance and performance. It also introduced a series of economy-based tournaments, awarding players with a cash prize that can be spent on repairing, purchasing, or upgrading cars for subsequent races. The game's Hot Pursuit mode, which was introduced in Hot Pursuit, was expanded with more options, allowing players to control police pursuits attempting to stop racers.
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, released as Need for Speed: Porsche 2000 in Europe and Need for Speed: Porsche in Latin America and Germany, is a racing video game released in 2000. It is the fifth installment in the Need for Speed series. Unlike other NFS titles, Porsche Unleashed centers on racing Porsche sports cars, with models ranging from years 1950 to 2000.
Formula 1 97 is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Psygnosis for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to the 1996 video game Formula 1 and was based on the 1997 Formula One World Championship. This was the last Formula One game to be made by the Bizarre Creations team, who moved on to create the successful Metropolis Street Racer for the Dreamcast and Project Gotham Racing for the Xbox.
Formula 1 98 is a racing video game developed by Visual Science and published by Psygnosis exclusively for PlayStation. It is the sequel to the 1997 video game Formula 1 97 and was based on the 1998 Formula One World Championship.
Grand Prix 2, released in North America as "Grand Prix II", is a racing simulator released by MicroProse in 1996. It is a sequel to Formula One Grand Prix. It was made under an official FIA license that featured the Formula One 1994 season, with all of the circuits, teams, drivers and cars. The cars were painted with liveries reflecting the races that did not allow tobacco and alcohol sponsors.
Rage Racer is the third title in the Ridge Racer series of racing games on the PlayStation. Developed and published by Namco, it was released in Japan on December 3, 1996, with releases in the U.S. and Europe following in 1997. It was the first game in the series to feature a CGI animated introduction, and introduced a new "mascot", Reiko Nagase.
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit is a 1998 racing video game developed for PlayStation by EA Canada and Microsoft Windows by EA Seattle, and published by Electronic Arts. It is the third major installment in the Need for Speed franchise, incorporating police pursuits as a major part of gameplay. Hot Pursuit remains focused on racing using exotic sports cars, but features races that primarily take place in locations within North America, including varied settings and climates. Police AI is improved over the first game, utilizing several tactics to stop both the player and opponent. The PlayStation version was released on March 25, 1998, while the Windows version was released on October 12 the same year. The game received critical success, with praise for its graphics and customization options. It received a direct sequel in 2002 and a reboot in 2010.
Formula 1 is a racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Psygnosis for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the first installment in Sony's Formula One series.
F1 Pole Position 64, released in Japan as Human Grand Prix: The New Generation, is a racing video game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Human Entertainment and published by Human Entertainment in Japan, and published by Ubi Soft for North American and Europe. It is the fifth and final game in the Human Grand Prix / F1 Pole Position series, featuring Formula One branding.
Gran Turismo is a 1997 racing simulation video game developed by Japan Studio's Polys Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was directed by Kazunori Yamauchi and produced by Shuhei Yoshida. It is the first game in the Gran Turismo series.
Rally Cross is a racing video game developed by Sony Interactive Studios America and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. A sequel was released in 1998 titled Rally Cross 2.
F1 Racing Simulation is a racing simulation game, developed for Microsoft Windows by Ubisoft in 1997. The game is based on the 1996 Formula One World Championship, and is the first of the Racing Simulation games made by Ubisoft, being the predecessor to Racing Simulation 2, which was released in 1998.
On the Ball is a football management game series from the German developers Ascaron, former name Ascon. The premiere title in the series is On the Ball. The player is managing a football club in the English League. The original game was very popular in Germany, so the developer Ascaron created several sequels: "On the Ball 2", "On the Ball 3", and "On the Ball Action". Doppelpass was a bundle that included On the Ball and the self-running add-on Anstoss World Cup Edition. The English version has a minor fan base.
Sudden Strike is a real-time tactics computer game set in World War II and the first game in the Sudden Strike series. The game was developed by Fireglow based in Russia and published by CDV software of Germany. The player selects a faction and gains control of many varied units such as infantry, tanks and artillery. The games focus primarily on tactics, eschewing traditional real-time strategy resource gathering and base development.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is a 1999 quiz/party video game originally developed by Jellyvision and published by Disney Interactive, based on the television franchise of the same name. The game was originally based on the American version of the show. It tasks the player with answering quiz questions in a limited time frame.
Porsche Challenge, Suikoden, Crow City of Angels, MechWarrior II, Soccer 97, Excalibur all just in stock.