I really like to drive; there is nothing more relaxing than taking your car for a ride around the city to clear your mind. But I also love the speed, love to see what is the top speed I can get on my car. However, due to obvious reasons, it’s not possible to do it in the city. Luckily for me, racing games are here to stay. Classics like Outrun and Top Gear were influential during my childhood. Now, 80’s Overdrive captures the best of said franchises and create a great experience that no racing fan should miss.
If I could describe 80’s Overdrive, I would say that is a love letter of the golden era of 16 bit racers. The pixel rich visuals are a treat to your eyes, and the game play is simple but engaging in a way that, once you are hooked, you won’t notice time flying by. The game’s Career Mode is where you will undoubtedly be spending the majority of your time. You purchase a car and then take it out to compete in a range of ranked road races. Each one carries an entry fee, but the cash prize for winning is more than worth the initial outlay. From time you time, you’ll get the chance to earn bonus money by collecting items, causing a certain amount of damage to a rival or – most usually of all – finishing dead last. These variables add a little spice to the racing action. Finishing first in the races boosts your global ranking which not only pushes you up the leader board but also unlocks other races around the world. The cash you earn can be used to enhance your current vehicle, giving it a faster top speed, better steering, and more stability. This is especially important as it reduces your recovery time, should you get into a bump. It’s also possible to equip nitro boost, which can be deployed a limited number of times per each race, provided you’re hitting your top speed.
Another aspect that I like of 80’s Overdrive is the music, which contains suitably atmospheric tracks from the likes of Angst78, Aceman, Karolis, Vectorwolf and Vocoderion, which in my opinion adds to the feel of the awesome 80’s the game is based upon. The time-attack mode, the most obvious nod to the Out Run games before it. Simple by nature, time-attack tasks players with reaching checkpoints within a time limit. Reaching a checkpoint adds more time to the clock and seamlessly leads players to another location for their synth-driven journey to the next checkpoint. Racking up points the further you drive, it is telling that the clock tracking your time driven measures in seconds, minutes, and hours. Dodging traffic and veering around tight corners while attempting to beat your best time is the most unadulterated fun 80’s Overdrive offers, especially considering failure yields no further consequence beyond starting again.
Bottom Line: 80’s Overdrive is an amazing racer with rad tunes beautiful pixel graphics and nods to popular culture icons of the 80’s (like Mr. T and the Delorean). It is a game that any 3DS owner out there should not miss on.