Checkered Flag

Get ready to burn rubber! Race for the Checkered Flag behind the wheel of a turbo-powered speedway racer in real-time, 3D-rendered action.

Choose from 10 high-performance tracks and see the speedway from 6 distinct views. Alter features and attributes on your racer to improve your times or even change the weather conditions.

Action so intense and realistic you'll swear you feel the wind in your hair as your tires screech around the curves.

Keep your sweaty palms on the controller!

CATEGORY: Racing simulator
PLAYERS: 1
PUBLISHER: Atari Corporation
DEVELOPED BY: Atari Corporation

At a glance...

Category Rating
Graphics 3
Sound/Music 3
Control 1
Playability 3
Presentation 3
Longer bars are better

Checkered Flag - REVIEW

One of the Jaguar's first racing-style games that shows potential but falls short on delivery.

You start off selecting car colors, weather conditions(nice touch), tire types and tracks among other items. Then, you sit pretty at the starting line awaiting the countdown (ala Atari's arcade game classic - Pole Position), after which you wonder how the heck to control your car!

Game control is not one of this game's strengths, and although you are given the option to use automatic or manual transmissions, even with automatic selected, you struggle trying to keep your car on the track. As for the manual option, it's provided for game masochists!

Graphics are blocky and quite crude as compared to those found in SuperBurnout, but that then again, Checkered Flag was released first. Music and Sound effects are present, but they aren't much of an addition to the game. After a while, even the car's engine sound becomes annoying. The 6 distinct views do come in handy and found the most distant view (the bird's eye) to be the best when racing your car.

However, I must point out that switching weather settings does provide an interesting and a short-lived novelty to the game, but even this won't convince you to play for an extended period of time. The tracks are definitely challenging, even after you master controlling your car, and the drones do pose a challenge as well, trying to run you off the track, but overall the game just sits there.

I recommend playing this game only when you find nothing better to do. At least attempting to control your car will be a challenge, and even then, you may decide to switch to another game after your frustration gets the best of you.
Copyright ©96, J. Ariel Garza
Last updated: 09/29/96

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