Commodore Amiga

MAX Rally

Car racing games have always been a favourite on the Amiga, especially top-down racers where you can take on your mates. MAX Rally hopes to build on the playability and graphic appeal of previous classics such as Skidmarks and Micro Machines and bring the whole genre up to date. As well as being able to play against up to four human players, various other racing modes are available, including racing against computer cars, racing against the clock or participating in a Championship or Max Challenge. There are twenty different tracks and four different types of terrain (Woodland, Cosmic, Alpine and Dunes) to be negotiated. Link up games are also possible, so you can play two player split-screen, two player link up or four player split-screen link up. If you don't have two Amigas to stick together you can play in a battle mode where the slowest cars are eliminated as they fall off the screen. MAX Rally fails to inspire. It's fun for a little while, in a sub-Skidmarks sort of way, but the computer opponents are too easy and the multiplayer mode isn't imaginative enough to retain interest for long. It's like the original Micro Machines, only half a decade late. Five years ago, maybe.