Death Rally Longplay (PC DOS) [4K] [Petrol in my Veins Difficulty]

Game Info --------------------------------------------------- Developer: Remedy Entertainment Publisher: GT Interactive Year of Release: 1996 Game Review & Impressions --------------------------------------------------- Close to a decade ago, I recorded a longplay of one of my favourite top-down racing games of all time. Death Rally was released at the tailend of the MS-DOS era of PC gaming, and despite it's shareware sentimentalities, the production values, gameplay and mechanics were some of the best for a game of this particular type. It was Remedy Entertainment's first ever game, created by a small-yet-talented team, which would pave the way for global recognition and success with Max Payne and everything beyond. I hadn't actually intended to make another longplay of the game, but having rewatched some of the video whilst reviewing some recent comments, I found some justification for creating a new recording. The first is the video resolution and encoding quality, which, at 4K, should be considerably sharper than the previous 720p video. I also decided to throw down the gauntlet and not only play the game on the hardest "Petrol in my Veins" difficulty, but to NOT choose Duke Nukem as my own character; the persona you adopt at the outset removes that particular driver from the roster of CPU-controlled players, and choosing Duke makes things easier in the later stages because it removes the hardest regular CPU-controlled opponent from the game. I also finished the game in a considerably shorter time, due to the fact I started entering higher tier races earlier, which helped me accrue more cash more quickly; this is one of the features which makes the game so cool, which I shall elaborate on further. What sets Death Rally apart from its contemporaries is the league progression system. For each round of the competition, the player can choose to enter one of three different races of increasing difficulty. Entrants are chosen on a first come, first served basis, with four competitors per race. You get to see drivers entering each race in real-time, and if you're familiar with your opponents and the car they drive, you can choose enter a more difficult race if you think the risk is worth it. There's a much higher chance your car getting wrecked, but any cash and race points you earn will be significantly higher than choosing a lower difficulty, and big injection of cash could be enough to clinch that new set of wheels you've been eyeing up. The league effectively continues ad infinitum, provided you have sufficient cash at hand to keep your vehicle repaired, and the sole goal is to earn enough points to top the leader board, whereupon you get to challenge the ultimate racer, The Adversary, in a head-to-head race for ultimate victory. It makes the whole game far more accessible and open than so many similar titles, and is one of the main reasons why I enjoy it so much. The other reason is the driving. The car handling and sense of speed as you tear round the partially-3D tracks are impressive enough, but the combat and weapons at your disposal add a whole extra layer on top. Each car comes fitted with a machine gun (or dual guns on the more expensive cars) designed to riddle opposing racers with bullets, turning their rides into smouldering wrecks. Rear-deployable mines and spiked bumpers can be purchased from the underground market ahead of the next race, and despite their cost, can often be worth the investment. A well-placed mine can shake off a tailgating opponent, or can be left in waiting for the pack leader coming around on the next lap, while rocket fuel gives your turbo boost a supercharged kick in the trousers. Wrecking all opponents in a race will net you a cash reward from the Grim Reaper himself, and other enigmatic "sponsors" show up from time to time, offering you money in exchange for putting another a racer out of commission, maintaining a continued streak, or delivering packages of a dubious pharmaceutical nature. It's an evolution of the interlude sections from Super Cars II, just without the confusing multiple-choice questions and answers. All of this stuff means Death Rally is just so much fun to play. Racing is the immediate focus, but the weapons and black market upgrades give you the freedom to go totally rogue and focus on destroying the competition to clinch victory, if that's what you want to do. Both are perfectly valid options, and it's great the game gives you the freedom to pursue both options. The sense of satisfaction which comes from finally being able to purchase a new car is palpable, especially when the performance upgrades this brings have a meaningful impact. Death Rally is just an excellent game, and really still the best of its kind. Chapters --------------------------------------------------- 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:22 Vagabond 0:11:41 Dervish 0:27:25 Sentinel 0:32:36 Shrieker 0:48:05 Wraith 1:02:39 Deliverator 1:29:58 Final race