Today I would like to introduce you to a title that I think everyone remembers from their computer science lessons in elementary school. Of course, only if you went to elementary school in the nineties.
It might seem that 4D Sports Driving is a typical racing simulator. Nothing could be further from the truth! Although the game is about racing against an opponent, the real element of the gameplay are the incredibly twisted tracks. Which game (at that time) allowed for a crazy race on the roofs of buildings? Exactly...
We have several vehicles at our disposal, each differing in appearance, handling and performance. The heavy as an elephant Lamborghini LM-002 certainly doesn't stand a chance against a Porsche (there are several models available in the game) on an asphalt road, but it can show its teeth on ice. All cars are available with a manual or automatic transmission and their handling is correct.
The physics of the game world is strictly arcade-like. Even a fall from a high altitude won't damage our car, but hitting a wall will...
I won't comment on the execution of the models and tracks. Let's go back to the early nineties, 3D graphics were not yet in their infancy... The music, on the other hand, deserves praise. Although it loops very quickly, even today it's catchy and the mentioned loop doesn't really get tiring.
Now let's move on to the tracks. Because they are twisted, wrapped and totally crazy. There is no shortage of ramps, loops, tunnels and half-tunnels. We also often have to watch out for icy surfaces or ubiquitous water. If we make contact with the first obstacle without paying attention, we will most likely fly off the track, while contact with water will immediately end the race.
We can race against the clock or an opponent. Unfortunately, the opponent AI is practically non-existent and you don't even have to make an effort to beat the CPU-controlled driver. On most of the more complicated tracks, the opponent can even get stuck on an obstacle.
The game 4D Sports Driving was equipped with two interesting features. The first one was an extensive track editor that allowed building new, unique tracks from pre-made elements. They could be saved on a floppy disk and shared with friends. While creating tracks, we were not limited, but often ended up with a "creation" that could not be properly driven. And even if we managed to complete it, there was another cool option - the ability to record a 10-minute ride. If we performed a breathtaking stunt in the game, we could save it as a replay and show off to our friends.
These two features in the game made 4D Sports Driving, sometimes called Stunts (that's what the game was called in Europe), so popular. Carrying floppy disks with our new tracks and replays was something that current gamers will never understand.
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