Interstate '76

Interstate '76 is a vehicular combat video game for Microsoft Windows. It was developed and published by Activision and released in 1997.[1]

Interstate '76
Developer(s)Activision
Publisher(s)Activision
Director(s)Sean Vesce
Producer(s)Scott Krager
Designer(s)Zachary Norman
Programmer(s)Dan Stanfill
Artist(s)Rick Glenn
Writer(s)Zachary Norman
Composer(s)Arion Salazar
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: February 28, 1997
  • EU: 1997
Genre(s)Vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Plot

The game opens in the Southwestern United States in an alternate history of the year 1976, in which the 1973 oil crisis was never resolved. The corrupt police force is ineffective against rampant riots, and the area devolves into lawless chaos. In an attempt to maintain order, some citizens turn to vigilantism by outfitting their vehicles with armor and weapons. One such vigilante, Jade Champion, is found murdered in a junkyard.

Suspecting foul play and seeking vengeance, fellow vigilante Taurus convinces Jade's brother Groove to join him in his investigation. Although reluctant, Groove proves himself a talented driver and a capable fighter, quickly picking up on the necessary skills to survive in battle.

In the course of their patrols, the two stumble upon a briefcase containing a large amount of money, and plans for a nuclear device. Taurus deduces that Jade had found out about this as well, attracting the ire of higher powers that got her killed. Further investigation clues them into spying on the deal to acquire the bomb, during which they learn of its intended delivery: an old military fort built on top of North America's largest oil reserve.

Groove storms the fort, fighting against an unexpectedly overwhelming opposition that leaves him with no way out. In a desperate maneuver, he ramps over the fort's outer wall and crashes into the compound, wrecking his car in the process and knocking himself unconscious. Upon awakening, he finds himself at the mercy of Antonio Malochio, Jade's killer and the mastermind behind the plan. As he arms the nuclear bomb, Malochio openly gloats that he has been hired by OPEC to destroy America's oil reserve in order to perpetuate the crisis and keep prices high.

Groove taunts Malochio into a duel, accusing him of dishonorably killing Jade. Furious, Malochio orders him to pick a car from the garage and take him on. Despite fighting an unfair battle that sees Malochio's henchmen joining in as reinforcements, Groove emerges victorious, leaving Malochio trapped in the remains of his car. As Malochio begs for his life, Groove experiences a brief vision of Jade in the distance, giving him the resolve to execute Malochio at gunpoint, and sate his revenge.

Gameplay
A battle in the game between Groove Champion's Picard Piranha (orange) and a Phaedra Rattler.

There are four play modes available in the game: the "T.R.I.P." (an acronym for "Total Recreational Interactive Production"), which follows the game's protagonists in an episodic story; "Multi Melee", an on-line deathmatch version of the game; "Auto Melee", a deathmatch with computer-driven cars; and "Scenarios", short free-standing adventures featuring the game's protagonists. The primary difference between the scenarios and the T.R.I.P., length of play aside, is that the player has a much broader choice of vehicles in the scenario mode, while the player is limited to only one car during most of the T.R.I.P. mode. The game's vehicles are faithful reproductions of various cars and trucks from the era, both in appearance and driving characteristics, though the names have been changed.

The game is based on the engine used for Activision's MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, and requires a fair amount of strategy through the course of the game, as the player must balance the vehicle's armor and weapon load-outs appropriately in order to successfully complete the various missions. In the game's story mode, the player must also manage and repair equipment salvaged from the wrecks of opponents.

Development

Lead designer Zack Norman recounted, "The idea came from a desire to use the Mech [Warrior] II technology to the next level and make a real action-simulation hybrid - a vehicle action simulation - but also infuse it with a style and a soul that hadn't been exploited before."[2] The inspiration to set the game in the 1970s came when Norman was contemplating using his bonus from MechWarrior II to buy a 1970s muscle car.[2]

The developers eschewed the convention of using more detailed models for cutscenes, preferring that the game remain stylistically consistent across the interactive and non-interactive portions.[2] Considerable modification of the MechWarrior II engine was needed, as director Sean Vesce explained: "If you look at the Mech II engine, it had a long and difficult history, developed by a large team of programmers over the course of two or three years under the direction of several producers, with a lot of trials and tribulations before it went out the door. As you can imagine, the technology was held together with super glue and bubble gum. So when we got our hands on it, we really had to gut a lot of the systems."[2]

The film rights to the game were acquired in March 1998 by 20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment.[3]

Reception
Interstate '76
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic80/100[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGW[5]
CVG5/5[6]
Edge8/10[7]
GameRevolutionB+[8]
GameSpot8.9/10[9]
Next Generation[10]
PC Gamer (US)93%[11]
PC Zone79%[12]
Entertainment WeeklyA-[13]

In the United States, the game sold 74,028 copies during 1997.[14] Interstate '76 received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4]

Next Generation stated that "none of the minor annoyances detract much at all from the game's overall impact. Interstate '76 easily lives up to the hype - it really is 'the funkiest PC game ever.'"[10] GamePro criticized the bland polygonal graphics, lack of detail in the backgrounds, and difficulty with simultaneously driving and shooting, but praised the funk soundtrack and characters, in particular opining, "Every barb from Taurus is a treasure".[15]

Interstate '76 was a runner-up for Computer Gaming World's 1997 "Action Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Quake II. The editors called Interstate '76 "more stylish and original [than Quake II], but it suffered a lack of good 3D support and an irritating save feature."[16]

Interstate '76 was a finalist for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' 1997 "Outstanding Achievement in Sound and Music" award,[17] which ultimately went to PaRappa the Rapper.[18]

In 1998, PC Gamer declared it the 26th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "the most original action game released in a decade".[19]

Expansion pack
The cover of the Nitro Riders expansion.

Interstate '76: Nitro Pack (known as Interstate '76: Nitro Riders in Europe) is a stand-alone expansion pack for Interstate '76. It was developed by Activision and released on February 28, 1998 for Windows.[20] It includes 20 single-player missions.

Nitro Pack received favorable reviews. PC Zone said that Nitro Pack "thankfully builds on the graphical shortcomings of the original Interstate '76 by adding all sorts of 3D support. Anyone who played the previous release with the Direct3D patch we gave away last issue will know what to expect; if you don't have a 3D card you probably won't notice that much of an improvement, and even if you do there are still some obvious problems: shadows don't hang together too well and mountains continue to spring up from the middle distance. It's annoying, but it doesn't really matter too much because the game oozes style from every pixellated pore. For 20 quid it's perfect throwaway fun that should appeal to anyone with a fond appreciation of Starsky & Hutch."[21] Edge magazine gave the game 8 out of 10.[22]

A graphically enhanced version of the original game, Interstate '76: Gold Edition, was also released.[23] A compilation package, The Interstate '76 Arsenal, was released in February 1998. It includes the Gold Edition and the expansion. On 18 February 2010 GOG.com released a downloadable version of The Interstate '76 Arsenal.[24]

Computer Gaming World gave The Interstate '76 Arsenal 4 out of 5, Game Revolution gave it B+, and GameSpot gave it 7.6 out 10.[25][26][27]

Sequel

Interstate '76 spawned a direct sequel, Interstate '82, as well as the Vigilante 8 spin-off series for video game consoles.

gollark: I mean, spreading them better because of increased global travel, sure, but we can also actually treat them now (ish).
gollark: <@354360619622727681> How did we/advanced technology go around causing *viruses* and *diseases*?
gollark: I think if we do end up going extinct for whatever reason it'll be either humanity wiping each other out or gradual decline and collapse.
gollark: I figure we'll start seeing very problematic stuff within... probably 50 to 100?
gollark: Yes.

References
  1. "Interstate '76 - IGN.com". ign.com. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  2. "NG Alphas: Interstate '76". Next Generation. No. 23. Imagine Media. November 1996. pp. 147–150.
  3. Chetwynd, Josh (6 March 1998). "Fox, Davis win '76' film rights". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  4. "Interstate '76 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  5. Green, Jeff (June 1997). "Super Groovalistic (Interstate '76 Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World (155): 130–33. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  6. "PC Review: Interstate 76". Computer and Video Games. 1997.
  7. Edge staff (May 1997). "Interstate '76". Edge (45).
  8. Dr. Moo (April 1997). "Interstate '76 Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on 17 April 2004. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  9. Dulin, Ron (1 April 1997). "Interstate '76 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  10. "Finals". Next Generation. No. 31. Imagine Media. July 1997. p. 164.
  11. Bennett, Dan (June 1997). "Interstate '76". PC Gamer: 76. Archived from the original on 24 December 1999. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  12. "PC Review: Interstate '76". PC Zone. 1997.
  13. Walk, Gary Eng (25 April 1997). "Interstate '76". Entertainment Weekly (376). Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  14. Staff (April 1998). "How Did the PCG Award Winners Fare?". PC Gamer US. 5 (4): 45.
  15. Scary Larry (June 1997). "PC GamePro Review: Interstate '76". GamePro. No. 105. IDG. p. 56.
  16. Staff (March 1998). "CGW Presents The Best & Worst of 1997". Computer Gaming World (164): 74–77, 80, 84, 88, 89.
  17. "The Award; Award Updates". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on June 15, 1998. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  18. "The Award; Award Updates". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on June 15, 1998. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  19. The PC Gamer Editors (October 1998). "The 50 Best Games Ever". PC Gamer US. 5 (10): 86, 87, 89, 90, 92, 98, 101, 102, 109, 110, 113, 114, 117, 118, 125, 126, 129, 130.
  20. IGN.com - Interstate '76 Nitro Pack
  21. "PC Review: Interstate '76: Nitro Riders". PC Zone. 1998.
  22. Edge staff (May 1998). "Interstate '76: Nitro Riders". Edge (58).
  23. "Interstate '76 Gold Edition". Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  24. Mackey, Bob (18 February 2010). "Get Your Groove on with Interstate '76". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  25. Green, Jeff (June 1998). "All Funked Up (The Interstate '76 Arsenal Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World (167): 189. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  26. Anderson, Tom (April 1998). "Interstate '76: Arsenal [sic] Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on 13 June 1998. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  27. Dulin, Ron (20 March 1998). "[The] Interstate '76 Arsenal Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.