                                  MegaRace
                        Review by William M Frazier

        MegaRace, from The Software ToolWorks, is a fast moving shoot and
smash, cream and crash, car race game. The premise of the game casts you as
a player on Virtual Television, where your death is only in the eyes of the
viewer. Your mission is to race your way around fifteen different race
tracks, each with its own unique set of hazards. Oh yeah, you must also
eliminate your competitors. Sounds simple, but try it. After a solid week of
play, I still haven't raced on the last two tracks.
        Your MegaHost, Lance Boyle (played by the actor Christian Erikson),
introduces MegaRace with the statement, "Welcome to MegaRace! The Virtual
World Broadcast Television experience that puts you in the driver's seat."
From there, it's a one way ride to oblivion.
        The game starts simply enough. As The Enforcer, you have your choice
of three cars. There are five additional cars to choose from, but you aren't
allowed to select them until you prove yourself. After you make your car
selection you go to the race. You have three laps to eliminate your
opponents. That can be accomplished by either shooting them with your
weapons, if you have enough energy, or smashing them into the sides of the
race course until they explode. But in virtual TV, things are not as easy as
that. Each track features a selection of symbols that can either help or
hinder your quest for excellence. Some symbols give you a speed boost, while
others slow you down. You can gain bonus points, or have points deducted.
The worst symbol of all removes your weapons, leaving virtually no chance of
slaying your enemies. You must either run over or avoid these symbols, while
at the same time you're flying down the track, around the curves, shooting
like crazy trying to explode the sucker in front of you.
        MegaRace is in CD-ROM format only. Although it will run on a 33 MHz
386 and 2 MB of RAM, the recommended hardware is a 486 with 4 MB of RAM. You
need at least an MPC1 rated CD-ROM drive and sound card. You also need a 256
color monitor. You can control your car with either the keyboard, a mouse,
or a joystick.
        Game-play is both fast and exciting. The vehicle is responsive to
your input, and the scrolling backgrounds are colorful. You are treated to
digs and jokes from Lance Boyle (what an ugly image that name draws),
between each race. If you want to take the time, you can also see endless
scenes of the world inhabited by Virtual TV, previews of the tracks you will
soon race on, and if you are successful, prizes you win. The animation is
extremely smooth, at least with a double speed CD-ROM drive.
        I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a few hours of itch
and twitch, all out arcade action. The only real strategy involved is
selecting the best car for a particular course. From then on, all you need
to do is put the pedal to the metal, pull the trigger, and avoid the symbols
on the track that lead to certain failure. This game is fun.

                           The Software Toolworks
                             60 Leveroni Court
                              Novato, CA 94949
                               (415)-883-3000

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