Kawasaki ATV PowerSports

By: Kirk Hiner

Genre: Racing

Format: CD

Developer: Encore Software

Publisher: Monkey Byte Development

System Requirements: MacOS 7.6.1, 180MHz 603e PowerPC, 32MB RAM, 50MB hard disk, 4MB 3D video card, Apple Game Sprockets 1.4

Network Feature: No

3Dfx Support: Rave

Retail Price: $24.95

Availability: Out Now

I've never been much for racing things. This whole "I can get there before you" thing completely passed me by. Well, except for maybe on State Route 91 between Hudson and Twinsburgh. Even then I only push my little Honda Civic to its limits when I'm attempting to stop some soccer mom in her SUV with the "My Son is An Honor Student at Twinsburgh High School" bumper sticker from getting out of the turn only lane. Shouldn't have gotten into that lane if you didn't want to turn, sweetheart. And if little Conrad, Jr. is late for school because of it, then it looks like maybe you'll have to take that bumper sticker off next grading period, huh.

It's not that I feel superior simply because I'm a considerate driver, but more that everyone else is inferior.

But racing just to race? Not for me, not since the Pinewood Derby in Cub Scouts. Even then I was more concerned with making sure my car reflected my support of the San Diego Chargers than with how it would place. But hey, other people dig the racing of the vehicles. They enjoy the power and the speed and the thrill of riding around and around and around in a circle a few hundred times. So be it. I'm not one to question the sudden popularity of NASCAR, I'm just one to hope it hurries up and goes away. I doubt it will, though. Just look at all the racing games available for the PC and the consoles. You can race cars, snowmobiles, boats, go-karts...heck, I'm sure some lame company somewhere even has an RC vehicle racing game.

What? You say Sierra already does? I rest my case.

But what about the Mac? For a long time we had nothing, but then along came LucasArts' excellent Star Wars: Episode One Racer. Then that French company announced a boat racing game. But the latest entry into this field is Monkey Byte Developments' Kawasaki ATV PowerSports.

One thing you must understand up front is that, as with most Monkey Byte games, Kawasaki ATV is simply an homage to the videogames of yesteryear. It has basic gameplay and a limited feature-set backed up by a modern graphics engine. If you're looking for something as sophisticated as Star Wars Racer, then I suggest you look at Star Wars Racer. But if simple racing action is all you require, then Kawasaki ATV may fill that need.

As with most racing games, Kawasaki ATV begins with some limited customizing of your racer. Choose a name, a character face (which you never see because it's under a helmet the whole time), a color and an ATV. There are only two ATVs from which to choose, and to me they look almost identical. But hey, for all I know, Kawasaki may sell only two models. What I find odd is that the game can apparently only remember one player. Each time I tried to set up a new racer, my old one would disappear. Poor guy. He was so young, had such great potential.

There are four different types of races; rally, derby, treasure hunt and finders keepers. Rally and derby are more traditional races, consisting mainly of driving through (or near) various checkpoints as you approach the finish line. Treasure hunt and finders/keepers, on the other hand, require you to drive around the countryside collecting diamonds...sort of like an Easter egg hunt on wheels. You also have the option of racing a circuit if you really get into it.

Each time I play Kawasaki ATV I'm reminded of just how far computer gaming technology has come. There was a time when the best we could expect from a game of this price were Pac Man quality graphics and audio that consisted of the programmer crying, "Oh no!" after your last brick got smashed or whatever. Indeed, during the early nineties, I'm pretty sure that every shareware game released was simply another Tetris knockoff. But these days even the most basic games are pretty to look at it, and Kawasaki ATV is proof positive. The environments, although somewhat barren, are nicely rendered and flow quite well even with the basic 4MB ATI graphics card in the early iMacs. The more you look at it, however, the more you can see what's missing. No waves while driving through water, no shadows, no tire tracks...not imperative to gameplay, of course, but also not up to today's standards.

The physics of the game are also a bit skewed. The ATVs seem able to defy gravity when racing along hillsides or coming down from a jump. And speaking of jumps, there seems to be no methodology as to when the ATV will actually leave the ground and when it won't, but you can be comforted in knowing that you'll land on all four wheels every time. I also don't understand how a meer shrub can propell your driver about fifty feet ahead of the ATV simply by running into it. I'm no biologist, but I'm pretty sure that desert plantlife doesn't have the ability to bring a speeding ATV to an immediate stop. That's okay, though, because it's really funny to watch your driver go hurtling across the countryside.

The area in which Kawasaki ATV is pretty much flawless is sound. From the roar of your own engine to the distant echoes of those you're trying to catch, I found the sound effects to be a close match to the real thing...or at least to that which I've heard on late night ESPN2, since I've never seen a real ATV race. Even more satisfying than the reving of engines is the dull thud you hear when smacking your ATV into one of those super shrubs. I would have also liked to hear another thud when the rider hit the ground, but that's just the Unreal Tournament side of me rearing its ugly head.

The controls are as simple as that of a real ATV; accelerate, turn right, turn left, brake. Pretty much all gamepads should be able to handle this game without difficulty (it supports InputSprockets), and the keyboard works just as well. It's probably too easy to overcompensate on the turns, which is quite annoying in the treasure hunt and finders keepers games, but it's all just a matter of getting used to it.

And finally, there's a course designer. The terrain, the placement of checkpoints, the number of killer shrubs...it's all up to you. Be as subtle or sadistic as you like, it's your race now. Sadly, there is no multiplayer feature that allows you to race others on your pre-designed courses. Too bad, as racing games beg multi-player action.

Kawasaki ATV PowerSports is not going to inspire you to run out and buy one of the real things, and I'm not sure that current owners will be impressed with the computer simulation. But gamers looking for an attractive, fast, bare bones racing game should be pleased with this low-cost entry. It's not like there's a lot from which to chose, anyway. It's the type of game that you'll forget about for a few months, then launch it to show a friend and end up playing it yourself constantly for a couple weeks until you forget about it again. I've done the same with games such as Maelstrom and Loony Labyrinth, and they've survived numerous computer transfers long after big budget games such as TIE Fighter and Unreal have been deleted. ATV Powersports is not a thriller, but it is a keeper.

Now if only you could customize your ATV with bumper stickers. I think mine would say, "My son ran over your honor student's report card with his Kawasaki ATV." Let the good times roll.

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November 20, 2008