VETTE!

 Imagine a computer road-racing game that doesn't confine you to a predetermined
route. Instead, you're given a hefty chunk of real city (San Francisco), your
choice of four autos and four competitors, more landmarks than you'd find packed
onto a flight simulator scenery disk, and modem support (so you can race with
your friends over the phone). In a nutshell, Spectrum HoloByte's VETTE! supplies
all this, as well as more features than any other racing game. This review is
based on the IBM-PC version of the game.

 The flight simulator analogy is particularly appropriate, because VETTE! owes
much to such programs. Most of the roadway graphics (vehicles, buildings,
cyclists, pedestrians) are of the 3-D solid-fill polygon variety, common to
programs such as F-19 and Microsoft's FLIGHT SIMULATOR. The background and
dashboard are traditional bit-mapped graphics, and the mix of two graphic styles
works well. For example, as you travel north along the Great Highway, you can
see the Golden Gate Bridge, bit-mapped, far in the background. When you drive
onto the bridge, though, it becomes an intricate, articulated 3-D polygon
structure.

 As the game begins, you're given a choice of four models of the Corvette, each
more powerful than the last, and each with different performance and equipment
specifications. They are: 1989 Stock Model, 1989 ZRI "King of the Hill," 1989
Callaway Sledgehammer, and 1989 Callaway "Twin Turbo." To a certain extent, you
can override the equipment specs and add your own preferences (cruise control,
automatic transmission, etc.), but non-standard equipment changes the
performance. There's a brief dynamometer sequence allowing you to check out
several specs of each car before making your decision. Then you choose a
gameplay level: trainee, rookie, or pro. As a trainee, you can break all the
laws you want, sustain infinite damage, and take advantage of other amenities.
Pros must contend with police, realistic damage, and traction. Rookies, as you
might guess, fall somewhere in between.

 You then choose your opponent auto; again, all four (Lamborghini Countach,
Porsche 928S 4, Ferrari Testarossa, and Ferrari F40) have different performance
specs. (The rotating, configurable wireframe display of each opponent car is
outstanding.) The computer always drives legally and perfectly. Finally, you
choose your race. There are four possible races: from the S.F. Zoo to Vista
Point (the far side of the Golden Gate bridge); from Vista Point to the Bay
Bridge toll plaza in Oakland; the Bay Bridge toll plaza to the S.F. Zoo; or a
circuit of all three.

 Although you do have a lot of flexibility in picking your routes, the optimal
routes are often clear-cut. For example, the first leg (Zoo to G.G. Bridge) is
very straightforward; no choices really necessary. In fact, any deviation from
the obvious route gives your opponent a huge advantage. The second and third
legs are slightly less clear-cut, and you have to do some planning if you want
to avoid stoplights, one-way streets, and roadblocks.

 The roadblocks constitute my primary complaint about the game. There is a _lot_
of the city -- in fact, I would guess at least two-thirds -- that is not
accessible. There are roadblocks and yellow fencing for miles and miles, yet you
can often see traffic moving within the fences, and scenery "just on the other
side" of the fences, none of which you can get to. Although I was initially
thrilled with the sensation of driving through an accurate simulation of a city,
I was quickly dismayed by its limitations.

 To be fair, the areas that _are_ simulated constitute most of the interesting
areas of San Francisco: Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, the
Transamerica Pyramid, the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, Lombard Street (the
famous "crookedest street in the world"), the Ferry Building, the piers, Union
Square, and a lot more. Very conspicuous in their absence are the cable cars!
But while there are no cable cars, there are a surprising number of _tankers_
cruising the streets of San Francisco. The bus system seems to be working very
well. All in all, it's a well-populated and well-travelled city...what there is
of it. Also, the entire Haight-Ashbury area is somewhere in the Never-Neverland
of the yellow roadblocks. Is that poetic justice or what?

 VETTE! is a historic program, one with far more to offer than any other racing
game to date. But aside from its remarkable concept, how does the game hold up
from a practical standpoint? It may be breakthrough...but is it fun? Underneath
its dozens of features, is VETTE! a good racing game?

 Unfortunately, there _are_ superior racing games on the market. VETTE! goes so
far in attempting to break down the barriers, to "stretch the envelope" of
what's possible with today's machines, that it ignores some of the basic
amenities. The primary problem is one of control. The game's digital control is
just a bit too clunky for smooth driving. The car turns in discreet bites of
angle...too discreet for realism. To compensate, the game provides a centering
key, one that will straighten your car instantly on whatever roadway you're
using (provided it falls into the grid pattern of the city; it doesn't work on
some of the angled roadways). While the centering key (which also makes up for
the fact that the mouse is non-centering) is a nice touch, it defeats the
purpose in serious competition. Of course, you don't have to use it if you don't
want to. For joyriding, it's fine. But it's no substitute for a high degree of
control in competitive situations. Also, the difference in handling among the
four cars, aside from speed and acceleration, is subtle at best (as it might be
in real life).

 Another smaller problem is the way the scenery shifts from one area to the
next. Often the roadway, background, and surrounding scenery will suddenly shift
with no warning whatsoever. For example, you're driving through the Presidio (on
Lincoln Blvd, presumably) and you can see the mountains, the city, and the
bridge in the background. The foreground is simply a featureless brown plain.
Suddenly, pop! You're on the bridge, surrounded by water. This is slightly
jarring, but not a serious problem.

 The instructions were obviously printed long before the program was finished,
and the result is really two manuals: the basic manual and a six-page pamphlet
of errata, corrections, and clarifications. Add to this two maps of San
Francisco (one detailed street guide, and one more general topographical map),
plus a keyboard reference/dashboard guide, and you have a confusing mass of
paraphernalia. Fortunately, the game is much easier to learn than it looks. And
the exhaustive background of the VETTE! is interesting (if not required)
reading.

 I enjoyed VETTE! quite a bit, but in its current incarnation, it won't replace
my other racing games. The graphics, despite the sudden scenery changes, are
very impressive. There's an enormous variety of views available: regular
"cockpit" view, out the left window, out the right window, and an amazingly
flexible helicopter view (my favorite) that lets you change the angle and height
of the view. The dashboard provides a concise, handy guide that gives you a
constant readout of the street names (the one you're on and the cross street
you're approaching), the current speed limit, the cross street's direction
(one-way or two-way), and the upcoming traffic marker. There's a small
toggleable dashboard map that displays your (and your opponent's) approximate
position in the city; there are side mirrors and an optional rear view mirror.
The buildings can be eliminated completely from the scenery, or merely their
windows can be removed. The more "extras" you turn off, the faster the animation
will run -- an important consideration because slower machines will really be
crippled by the game's graphic intensity. And the modem feature is a unique
addition, one that should make other manufacturers ask themselves why they
didn't think of it first.

 Three versions of the game are included in the IBM package: the CGA version on
a 5-1/4" disk, the CGA version on a 3-1/2" diskette, and the EGA version on a
5-1/4" high density disk. The EGA version is also available on a 3-1/2" diskette
(for an extra charge). However, because the files themselves are unprotected
(the game uses a document check as copy protection), you can copy the files from
one format to another, if you have access to a machine with both format drives.
The game will also run in Hercules mode. Though the driving portions of VETTE!
are in 320x200 resolution, some of the more static screens -- the opening and
closing screens, dynamometer, and other portions -- are in an excellent 620x200
mode.

 The CGA version of the game requires 512K; the EGA version requires 640K. The
game can sense the speed of your processor (a minimum of 7 MHz is required) and
will adjust the display accordingly. However, you may want to reconfigure it to
add more graphic detail (at a cost of speed) or more speed (by sacrificing
graphic detail). I would say that 12 MHz or better is optimal; if your machine
runs at 8 MHz, you may not be satisfied with the frame rate/graphic compromises
you'll have to make. Joystick and mouse are both optional.

 Spectrum HoloByte certainly deserves congratulations for VETTE! What is less
certain, though, is whether their efforts have produced a program that is as
satisfactory from a gaming standpoint as it is fascinating from a technical
standpoint. That will depend on how important precise control is to the racing
game fan. For joyriding, VETTE! is nonpareil.

 VETTE! is published and distributed by Spectrum HoloByte.

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