Some games live long in the memory, and some stay a while on the shelves. Some appear out of nowhere, flying under the radar, and then disappear before you know what happened. I think that's how Interstate '76 can be described because I had never heard of it in my life until this 1001 list brought it up.
Now, no gamer is expected to know of every game there is, of course, but we ought to know some of the more unusual or unexpected titles if only to broaden our knowledge. This time, I'm catching up on my awareness of vehicular combat simulators set in the 1970s of an alternate American history - a genre that began and most likely ended with Interstate '76.
Let's get our groove on and see what this is about.
Fun Times
The game kicks off with some style. Quite a bit of style, actually, with funky music and uniquely polygoned (shall we say) characters, setting a scene of Mad Max meets Starsky & Hutch or something. I say 'or something' because I've watched neither, but I think you can work with that.
Vigilante Jade Champion has been shot and killed by a dude in a suit, with her partner in crime-fighting, Taurus, arriving on the scene in time only for her dying words. She wants her brother, Groove, to avenge her death, but he'll need to drop his racer lifestyle and take up a more aggressive view of the world before he can do so.
TV show titles cap off the introduction and let us know that Interstate '76 is something really rather different, and yet I still don't know just what the game actually is. Luckily, there is a full list of controls and some noob friendly difficulty options to give me some sort of idea, as well as a tutorial to go through the basics.
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| Wait, 'Poem'? |
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| What on Earth is a 'Chas. Rein.'? |
'Basics' is perhaps a funny word when you learn that this is not only a game of vehicular combat but one based on the MechWarrior 2 engine. This isn't just 'drive and shoot', oh no - this is 'drive, shoot, change weapons, monitor chassis status, switch weapons, look around the insides of the car, lean out the window with your pistol'...
Interstate '76 is deep, but I'm surprisingly not put off by it. So far, at least.
Default controls have you driving with the 2468 keys, looking around with the arrow keys, changing and firing your four weapons with the enter and space keys, and doing all sorts of targetting, map reading, notepad checking, binocular viewing and poetry reciting with a whole bunch of other keys. It's involved. Taking screenshots was a chore, thanks for asking.
With a bit of practice under my belt, I got going with the story mode to see where this strange game would take me.
My first mission was to follow Taurus to a town called Seagraves. As intro missions go, this game was off to a standard start. A safe drive to set the mood, before a simple skirmish or two to give a taste of the action before the plot really gets going.
Frustrations
At this point, I was sure something had gone wrong with my game. Cutscenes all take place in-game, and this one-shot lingered for a looooong time. The clouds still moved and sound still played, and Taurus even bemoaned me about something, which was right before I realised that I had control here, and was driving. Sure enough, a change of direction saw two teeny tiny cars in the distance. "Is this really how my time with Interstate '76 will be remembered?"
Fortunately not, as the camera finally kicked in and I was in the driving seat... following the slowest car in the world.
I didn't find an accurate speedometer on the dashboard, but I was pretty much coasting for this ride. Every now and then I'd accelerate too much and crash into the back of my buddy, but it didn't help him to go any faster. After what felt like a few minutes, he said he knew a shortcut, which was gladly taken, though how much time it saved is anyone's guess.
Arriving in town, I'm told of a Fireworks hut that is a front for bad guy business, or some such vigilante speak. Something about 'think of the children' was mentioned, and I was tasked with destroying it. The map alluded to this hut being in one of three places, so I drove up to the first one and promptly blew it up to complete that little diversion.
I hoped the game picked up a little after this, and sure enough, a concerned citizen came over the radio asking for help, so on our way we went. Slowly, obviously, but it was a much shorter drive this time.
Further Fun Times
Finally! Combat! A bunch of hoodlums were tearing about the place in their hot rods and muscle cars and I was going to put a stop to it, by any means necessary, preferably with force.
Guns blazing and targetting systems pointing the way, I turned my opponents into burning wrecks in the desert. In a neat touch, with rear-facing weapons and a rear-view mirror, you can even catch the enemy off guard and kill them from the wrong direction, allowing me to catch a satisfying screenshot of an explosion in my mirror.
After this little fight, the situation had been dealt with and the mission came to a close. A sad close, because of my earlier choices...
Final Word
Yes, because of sticking on unlimited ammo and armour options, I couldn't make any progress through the story mode. I may have been on 'Wimp' difficulty as it is, but if I'm to make it any further into the intriguing world of Interstate '76, I'm going to have to do it properly, with practice and skill on my side.
I hear that even on low difficulties it's a bit of tricky game so I might have to really get to grips with the controls, which are easier than you might think, especially when you aren't trying to capture screenshots at the same time.
Also present but not seen is the ability to salvage bits and bobs from destroyed cars, so that you can repair and modify your own Picard Pirhana, kitting it out with deadly weaponry and strengthening the bright orange bodywork for goodness knows what. That's right, it doesn't just control like a Mech simulator, but you've got to manage your car like a mech too.
Interstate '76 is another one of those titles that came from nowhere to capture my attention, and it's going to keep it for a little while at least - until the difficulty curve ramps up, I suppose.
If you're really put off by bad graphics, then be aware that it can look as great as this...
... but if you've made it that far through the intro without wanting to stop, then you're good to go no matter what it looks like.
I wonder where this road will take me, and how changed I'll be when I get there. Buckle up with Interstate '76 yourselves, because there's not a whole lot like it out there.
Fun Facts
Inspiration to set the game in the 1970s came when lead designer Zack Norman was uhming and ahhing over buying a 1970s muscle car with his bonus from working on MechWarrior 2. It also helped that nobody else had 'exploited the era for a game before'. 'Exploit' sounds both right and wrong there - incredible.
Interstate '76, developed by Activision, first released in 1997.
Version played: PC, 1997.