Breakneck

BreakNeck, from Southpeak Interactive, has managed to combine multiple vehicles in one racing program that may not feature the best three-dimensional landscape ever seen, but does rev up the fun with a variety of options that keep the product fresh.

Options, options, options … Much like some of the cars featured in this program, the game itself is loaded. There are two playing options – arcade (which is quick action) and expert (you get to set up the vehicle, and the race breakdown is a little more in-depth). Then you have 50 vehicles to choose from, in a variety of vehicle classes, which feature premium cars, formula, sprint cars and trucks. There are 24 tracks with a variety of ways they can each be navigated, adding up to 96 different versions. You can race at nighttime, in the rain, fog or snow. You may begin to get the idea.

The arcade mode will leap you right into the thick of racing in a hurry. Choose from 10 course scenes like Arizona, Australia, Austria, Germany, Hawaii, Korsika, Belgium or Egypt. You select your car, your sponsor and then begin flying around the corners.

There is a setup menu that can be accessed to allow you to format the game for optimum performance on your PC.

In expert, you have to be a little more involved. You have to sign a contract, endure the barbs and taunts of Eddi – your three-dimensional mechanic, then decide on entering a single race (“What, you got somewhere ta go!” Eddi intones, his accent almost touching on a New York background), or career mode. In career, you can get your cyber hands dirty by repairing and setting up your vehicle. If it isn’t running the way you would like, sell it.

If creating havoc and damage is something you enjoy, then play in deathmatch mode. You arm your vehicle with a variety of weapons (machine gun, tire slasher, heat-seeking missiles, mortars, nail cannons, et cetera) and then target your competition. One interesting weapon is the Marionator – which reduces your opponents’ vehicle size by approximately 50 percent. Speed drops off, the engine over-revs and is damaged, and you can bump them all over the place.

Though the scenery is not outstanding, it does convey the area in which you are racing. The car effects are very good, from the rubber laid down on the highway, to smoke pouring from the patch burns. And once in a race, the game zips right along. There is some difficulty with the overall appearance. There are no controls for brightness, and the game can get a little dark in caverns and tunnels. BreakNeck is configured for the keyboard, and though it will recognize a joystick, it doesn’t always do so right away.

As your vehicle gets battered, you will see the damage on the representative image in the left corner of your monitor. As the body damage accumulates, the car – much like health bars in RPG or RTS programs – begins a color change for the worse.

There are a lot of racing programs that concentrate on one type of vehicle. While they may present a quality game, you are still stuck with one style of game. BreakNeck changes that. This program presents the fun and adrenaline rush of racing products, but gives the player enough options to make every time out onto the track a new adventure.

This program is rated for everyone and does support multiplayer gaming.

Install: Medium. BreakNeck only asks for 385 megabytes in the maximum install. This doesn’t happen quickly, but it doesn’t take too long.

Gameplay: 7.5. The action is quite smooth, and the courses fly past.

Graphics: 7. Though the 3D graphics are quite well rendered, the game is a little on the dark side. There are no controls to set the gamma, or brightness.

Sound: 7. A little redundant when it comes to setting sounds – like coyotes howling in the Arizona desert – but otherwise the engine noise, the squealing tires and the music are superb.

Difficulty: 8. The arcade and expert modes really determine the level you will play at. The array of options also adds to the difficulty. The cars may handle well, but the tracks present a challenge, coupled with the darkness of the program. Yep, it presents a challenge.

Concept: 8. Solid points here for incorporating not just one style of car, but a wide variety.

Overall: 7.5. BreakNeck is an enjoyable race game, whether playing in arcade or expert mode. The courses are challenging, and the range of vehicles makes it quite a bit of fun.