Apocalypse Road

I am generally bored by racing games, so I did not go into Apocalypse Road with much faith. Thunder Alley had made a very good impression on me and got plenty of plays, while Grand Prix had disappointed me so much that I nearly did not back this one on P500 at all. Thankfully, my consumerism won out: this is proper carnage on wheels.

It is lighter than those two, but it keeps more of Thunder Alley’s system. The race remains the core of the experience, except that it is not enough simply to work out how to move most effectively: there are missiles and cannons too, so the track becomes a battlefield.

The interaction is the whole point. Players do not politely coexist on the same track; they get in one another’s way, and the fighting is relentless. The altered scoring system makes the whole thing more interesting and fresher, rather than making it feel like merely an armed variation on Thunder Alley.

Each race lasts roughly one to one and a half hours of unrestrained noise and chaos, and I honestly cannot wait to bring it out on another trip. Then you will see its glory up close — and we will probably get thrown out of the room for being too loud.