Cro-Mag Rally

Reviewed By: Kirk Hiner

Review Date: December 15, 2000

Genre: Racing

Format: CD

Developer: Pangea Software

Minimum Requirements: 233MHz G3, MacOS 8.6, 64MB RAM, 6MB VRAM, CD-ROM, 3D acceleration (Rage Pro or better; will not run on Rev. A iMacs or stock G3s unless 3D accelerator has been installed)

Network Feature: Yes

3D Support: Yes

Retail Price: $39.99

Availability: Now

My cousin's son Terry loves Dodge trucks. Can't get enough of them Dodge trucks. He curses at Ford owners as they drive by, and he insults the mothers of men who prefer Chevrolet. He's as passionate about Dodge trucks as I am about the Macintosh or a big bowl of fettucini alfredo. And as with most people who are into one automobile or another, Terry also enjoys watching them race.

I, on the other hand, don't get into racing at all. I would guess this stems from my lack of interest in cars in general (outiftted with the right stereo system and a few Dead Milkmen CDs, I'd be happy driving a shopping cart to work), but I really don't like to watch anything race; cars, people, horses, sea monkeys...I just don't care. If there aren't 30 naked women racing on bicycles, I'd just as soon stare at the wall.

This is why I was never one to clamor for more racing games on the Mac. But others did, and now look where we are. We just saw the release of 4x4 Evolution, we've got Kawasaki JET SKI and WaterRace on the way, and we've got Cro-Mag Rally right now.

Cro-Mag Rally is an OpenGL based racing game from Pangea Software, the company that brought us Bugdom, Mighty Mike and Nanosaur, amongst others. Chances are, if you've purchased a Mac within the last two years, you have a Pangea Software game pre-installed. There's very good reason for this. Pangea games look gorgeous, showing off Apple's built-in gaming capabilities. They also feature furious yet family friendly gameplay. Better yet, aside from the recent PC port of Bugdom, Pangea games are Mac only.

So your PC brethren, at least for now, cannot assume the roles of Brog or Grag and hit the circuit. They cannot hop into their Geode Cruiser or Hot Rock and zoom over a medieval landscape or through the Lost City of Atlantis. (Was Atlantis lost in the cro-magnon days? Were cavemen even in Atlantis? Some go "In Search of..." with Leonard Nimoy.)

Cro-Mag Rally contains nine tracks, three of which are available for play right away. Nine tracks may not seem like a lot, but believe me, it'll take you a long time to get to them all. In order to unlock the fourth track, you must win on the third in tournament mode. To unlock the fifth, you have to beat the fourth. You get the idea, but the idea is much simpler than the execution.

Cro-Mag Rally is difficult. Extremely difficult. Even in easy mode, you can count on a lot of practice time. To advance to the next level, you not only have to beat the other racers but collect arrowheads as well. It doesn't matter how soundly you beat the racers, if you leave even one arrowhead behind, it's back to the beginning for you.

There is help along the way. All sorts of nifty power-ups lie scattered about to improve your cart's performance, and some can be used as weapons. Got someone ahead of you who won't get out of your way? Hit him with a snowball. Or how about that girl who keeps ramming you from behind. A carefully placed oil slick ought to do the trick.

Still, if you're anything other than a nine-year-old who can spend three hours in front to the computer without hurting his back or feeling guilty for not shovelling the drive (like perhaps Terry), Cro-Mag Rally could have become an exercise in frustration. I say "could have" because the game has gotten easier. Soon after its released, Brian Greenstone of Pangea Software released a patch that lowered the difficulty a bit and implemented a feature that allows players to tweak the control of the carts. And trust me, there's no need to feel guilty about this. We are none of us cavemen, after all, and even Michael Beckett, the gentleman who composed the game's music, admitted to having some difficulty.

I point this out not to embarrass Michael, but to create a nice transition to my traditional gushing over the music and graphics of Pangea Software games. Unlike most 3D accelerated games, Pangea titles are bright and colorful. It's as if Brian allowed a field trip of 2nd graders into his office and had them go crazy with a pack of permanent markers. Looking at his screens, you can't help but feel happy. Run into a polar bear? Who cares? It was sooooooooooo cute! Get smashed by a boulder? So what? Look at the lovely landscape! Now I certainly enjoy myself a good game of Deus Ex now and again, but launching a game of Cro-Mag Rally after exploring the back streets of Hong Kong is like tossing open the windows to a fresh country morning.

And the music. To quote a sorely missed cat, "Happy, happy, joy, joy!" Michael Beckett of Nuclear Kangaroo Music has once again composed a score that perfectly captures the energy and attitude of the game. The music is fun, but unobtrusive. It's there when you want to hear it, but it can also be shut out when you want to concentrate on the race...or hear Brian's power-up announcements and driving critiques. In fact, I do recommend taking a few laps with the music turned off so you can appreciate the game's sound effects as well. Just be sure you give a listen to Michael's victory song at the end; the man has himself some rock and roll chops.

So yes, Cro-Mag Rally is a great racing game. The trouble is, it's a racing game, and a bare-bones one at that. There are no missions to accomplish, no parts to purchase between races, just action. I liked this; it's my belief everything off the track in racing games is just fluff. However, I doubt most racing fans will see it that way. Terry sure wouldn't. He'd want to outfit is Logmobile with some sort of nitro canister or roll bars or something. Gamers like that will probably finish the nine tracks quickly and get bored. Cro-Mag Rally does have multiplayer mode to inject interest, but only over a local network.

Novice gamers, on the other hand, will likely grow frustrated at the early difficulties. Practice makes perfect, of course, and the game is easier if you're running anything at or above v1.0.5, but it's easier to lose interest in a racing game than in outright action titles such as, say, Bugdom.

Still, Cro-Mag Rally is a joy to play. Children and adults alike will be entertained by the game. For how long? Well, I'll leave that to the racing fans. I'd ask Terry, but sadly, his parents are PC people. I bet they drive Fords, too. What kind of morons...

Oh, sorry. Forgot who I was there for a moment.

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