Mad Race

Mad Race is a race car game for all ages on the Windows PC platform.

3D graphics enhance the experience for players of Mad Race; players of the game will enjoy the experience of driving fast and sporty race cars just like the pros. The top 12 fastest race cars in the world are available along with more than 50 tournaments and a chance to win the (virtual) Grand Prix. Bonuses for skill and speed advance player drivers through the game and allow them to explore a wide range of race tracks in all weather conditions as well as climates.

There is some 'vehicular combat' available though the main goal of the game is to be first to the finish. Visual effects and explosions heighten the adrenaline pump while playing. Mad Race's soundtrack has been found by many players to be very enjoyable while racing. Additionally, live game statistics are available to compare players around the world and size up the opposition. Weapons are set in the front and rear of the car and can help boost player scores by taking out, or at least slowing down, the competition AI and or human players.

At 39 MB Mad Race takes up a small footprint on most hard drives and can be easily uninstalled through the Control Panel option in Windows. The game was designed by Media Contact LLC. Designed for single and multiplayer interaction, Mad Race offers single race as well as tournament options. Tracks and cars are chosen by the player in some scenarios and are random in others depending upon the race goal and how much of the game the player has unlocked through speed and skill.

Related to Mad Race but created by Realore is the game Mad Cars. Unlike Mad Race, however, Mad Cars focuses on causing damage to the other players rather than on skill and ability to stay on the track and achieve first place across the finish line. Similar titles from Media Contact LLC include Crazy Cars, Super Cars Racing, Sky Track, Mad Truckers, and 16 other titles in the race car game genre. Mad Race is still maintained and updated on occasion, at the last count it was in its 32nd version for Windows PC.

Race tracks for Mad Race run across deserts, beaches, mountains, plains and more. Conditions on the road include fog, night driving, ice, snow, rain and wild animals escaped from some of the plains off-road farms. Points can be scored for speed as well as things like navigating curves, pulling off tricky passes around the other players, denting parts of opponent cars, weapons used, overall time, and how road conditions are navigated. Sometimes avoiding objects leads to more points than crashing through, and it is possible to be pulled off the track and onto the side if too much damage and not enough bonus points are accumulated to repair the car being driven by the player.

Mad Race is compatible with Windows XP/2000/ME/98 SE/98 and is considered a back-to-basics racing game. That is part of the fun, according to players. It is not meant to be a realistic racing simulator and it does not take itself too seriously. Cartoon style escapades offer players the chance to go up against as many as six other players at once or against the computer. Sometimes recovery times are random, and a car that is still flaming on fire can be raced right to the finish line. Race-at-a-time mode challenges individual players and helps get cars and tracks unlocked for play in the tournament mode of the game.

Pros

• Small file size
• Single and multi player options
• Lots of vehicles to choose from

Cons

• Camera view is sometimes dizzying
• No Windows 7 or beyond support