GameCube: Treasure of the Day: Hard Drivin'

September 10, 2004 - This our chance to do it! Now we can finally step away from the burdens of a polygonal world and engulf ourselves in memories -- memories of an ancient time when men were men, women were women, legwarmers were legwarmers, and your average arcade game was good and not covered in nacho cheese. We remember, and so does Midway.

With Midway's Arcade Treasures 2, you too can experience the joys of non-polygonal gaming as it existed over a decade ago. Expected on the timeless entertainment compilation are games like A.P.B., Arch Rivals, Championship Sprint, Cyberball 2072, Gauntlet 2, Hard Drivin', Kozmik Kroozr', Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat III, NARC, Pit Fighter, Primal Rage, Rampage World Tour, Spy Hunter 2, Timber, Total Carnage, Wacko, Wizard of Wor, Xenophobe, and Xybots. In addition to the games, Midway also provides histories of the titles and interviews with some of the game creators.

Do you remember 1989? We barely do. All we remember was that those were the days of throwing around a football and doing some damage to G.I. Joes provided your yard came equipped with fireworks, kerosene, and a hose (for safety, obviously). In addition to exploding action figures, 1989 also brought along Hard Drivin'. Want to know a little bit about the game, it's history, and see some media...? Look down and enjoy.

Leading all the way up to Arcade Treasure's release later this October, we're going to offer a day-by-day profile of each of the games to be included on the disc (with movies, too). Today's game of yore is Hard Drivin'

Hard Drivin'

Pub: Atari Dev: Atari Release: Arcade, 1989

In a world of 2-D, the 3-D driving game Hard Drivin' blew a few minds upon its release. Complete with a deluxe cabinet that enveloped the gamer, the game featured driving in a polygonal world. With automatic and manual shifting this was a game that was serious about creating an immersive experience. The framerate may have been slow, but the game was quick to suck down quarters.

Hard Drivin' had two modes, Speed and Stunt, and while Speed was good for racing it was the Stunt mode that really gathered all the attention. With a first-person cockpit view, gamers could drive around a banked turn, jump off a drawbridge, or go for the ultimate kick and drive through a 360-degree vertical loop. It was intense and it was a sign of the many racing games to come.

Screens | Movies

-- Ed Lewis