Good Early 80's driving games

[Cassidy Nolen]

All,

 

Aside from the Atari drivers of the 70's, what driving games were decent other than Pole Position before the Outrun/Power Drift era? I really can't think of any.

 

My gameroom needs a driver, and I am leaning towards an upright Night Driver (I know its 70's but its fun) for lack of a better choice. I would consider a Speed Freak, but I don't recall the play value being that great, the steering wheel is gigantic and who exactly has a spare vector driver board lying around for anything Vectorbeam did, if you get my point?

 

Any suggestions?

 

C

[TwinChargers]

You could go for the infamous "Death Race" game that caused a stir in the late 70's.

 

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7541

[+Psionic]

Besides PP and PP II, Monaco GP by Sega is the only one that comes to mind...and they are damn hard to find.

[+DamonicFury]

How about Turbo? That was a pretty great game for it's day.

[jboypacman]

How about Alley Rally by Exidy its from 1975 but it might make a interesting choice for your gameroom.......

 

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6863

[+pboland]

All,

 

Aside from the Atari drivers of the 70's, what driving games were decent other than Pole Position before the Outrun/Power Drift era? I really can't think of any.

 

My gameroom needs a driver, and I am leaning towards an upright Night Driver (I know its 70's but its fun) for lack of a better choice. I would consider a Speed Freak, but I don't recall the play value being that great, the steering wheel is gigantic and who exactly has a spare vector driver board lying around for anything Vectorbeam did, if you get my point?

 

Any suggestions?

 

C

This is probably an impossibility but, how about an Atari TX-1? You gotta love the three screens!

[Cassidy Nolen]

These are some strong runners, guys. I had not thought about exploring 70's ones but thats an option. A friend just got a set of Ferrari F360's linked in his basement and I would love to go that route, I just think it would stand out terribly in a line of classics. The TX-1 is probably the most advanced of them.

 

I suppose Hard Drivin' but man that thing is a monster to move. 25 inch monitor upside down...that is the only game I have ever had fall on me....that sucked.

 

C

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

If you don't mind going with a newer(late 80's/early 90's).... A.P.B. was always fun to play.

[+pboland]

These are some strong runners, guys. I had not thought about exploring 70's ones but thats an option. A friend just got a set of Ferrari F360's linked in his basement and I would love to go that route, I just think it would stand out terribly in a line of classics. The TX-1 is probably the most advanced of them.

 

I suppose Hard Drivin' but man that thing is a monster to move. 25 inch monitor upside down...that is the only game I have ever had fall on me....that sucked.

 

C

I was going to suggest Hard Drivin' but I thought that came out in the late 80's? (1988 I think?)

 

On a side note, I just realized that the picture of the TX-1 I had in the earlier post was not the Atari release version. Here is the Atari version:

[MrAtari2600]

on verge of 90s but a good fun overview style game i played for a while

 

http://klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=12843

Edited March 18, 2008 by VintageGameCollectorKid

[Cassidy Nolen]

Good ole Ivan Stewart!! I made a good chunk on that game in a laundromat...had 2 of them. I think I gave the game away when I sold the stop.

 

If you do ever get one of these, get the track pack and turn on the bikini trophy gal outfits I had it pretty tame and easy for kids. Game was a consistent earner. I think I gave 175 for the first one I had, and like 120 for the second. Great fun.

 

You know, I think I am leaning towards a Night Driver. Bo (nrvous008) has my second cockpit one (the CGE folks have my first) and I miss that breakneck speed. I see in some pics that someone found a red Highway cabinet in the Northwest recently (can't recall what warehouse buy it was) but that would be a longshot. That cabinet is such a pain to fit in a standard door (not heavy just akward). Would love a Speed Freak, but don't think I am willing to keep one running....

 

Thanks for the suggestions, all. Keep em coming.

 

C

[Brian Deuel]

Grand Champion was always a favorite early 80s driver of mine, next to Monaco GP.

[Prodos8]

I played my fair share of Bump 'n' Jump and Stocker back then. Demolition Derby was fun with two or more players.

[Cassidy Nolen]

I have to say, you stumped me....I have never seen nor even heard of Grand Champion. Looks very Monaco/Turbo in layout and I love the cabinet. Assuming its standard Taito weirdness, lots of connector and power supply giggling will keep one running. Very cool. Will keep that one in mind!

Thats what I love about classic gaming, there is always something new to find, 30 years later.

 

C

[atarian63]

All,

 

Aside from the Atari drivers of the 70's, what driving games were decent other than Pole Position before the Outrun/Power Drift era? I really can't think of any.

 

My gameroom needs a driver, and I am leaning towards an upright Night Driver (I know its 70's but its fun) for lack of a better choice. I would consider a Speed Freak, but I don't recall the play value being that great, the steering wheel is gigantic and who exactly has a spare vector driver board lying around for anything Vectorbeam did, if you get my point?

 

Any suggestions?

 

C

Pole position II, I have one, an old one but a good one, we still play it. The boards are notorious for being or going bad and hard to get repaired. The one I have has a repair job done on the main connector and a custom made cardboard housing with a fan running over the board. Zero problems in 3 years! If you decide to do one of these just check it out well first.

I would love a night driver as well! Played the heck out of that back in the day. Needs to be a sit down for sure!

[Atari5200]

one of my favorite racers as a kid I believe was called Super Sprint

 

yep, it's Super Sprint, see pic. very fun. Also my favorite Taito driving game is Chase H.Q. it's fantastic.

 

Edited March 21, 2008 by Atari5200

[Flack]

Almost all of my favorites -- Turbo, Pole Position, Super Sprint and Off-Road -- have been mentioned. I have two others in my collection that I really enjoy. One is Buggy Boy aka Speed Buggy. I fell in love with the C64 version of that game and love the arcade version as well. The other one I own is Road Riot. It's pretty fun as well. Another old favorite of mine is Up N' Down, but it's not really a driving game per se.

 

Two others that might be too new for your room would be Road Blasters and Great 1000 Miles Ralley. I own the first but would love to pick up the second.