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[Shoot-em-upper]

After the race starts, I'll start going forward, and then come to a stop. And then I can't go any farther.

During my abandonware seasons I keep remembering this nifty little Sci-Fi bike racer I spent one summer on when I was around 10 years old. I just never could remember anything else about it's name or publishers, except some French people had made it.

It's the rewarding times as these, which make me sometimes just flip through different database lists on gaming sites. Great work, nice upload, and a facepalm for the actual title, forgotten for the past 15 years. Don't expect pure greatness from this one though. It's a one-trick-wonder with the aspect of high score boasting long gone. At least I got one recurring thought off my chest after, what, two years

Here's a quick and dirty guide to the game basics, some already mentioned by the original reviewer.

Speed

We're talking about a very unforgiving title with a strictly limited time (or fuel) to pass to the next level. The "road" is actually a very narrow "speed stripe", which you must try to align yourself with at all times. The correct position regarding height is the height you start at, regarding width is aligning the stripe right below your bike (bike shadow helps).

The further away you get from this optimal position, the faster you decelerate. The closer you get, the faster you accelerate. Do note, the ground is not flat and the stripe keeps swerving around like a snake, so position must be constantly corrected. Getting away from the optimal position also provides additional force throwing you up or down. I don't think it has anything to do with speed.

Destruction

The only obstacles on the road are roadside poles, which get bigger and wider the longer you manage to ride. Hitting them will make you crash, so you're actually driving in a "death corridor", which keeps getting narrower. Speed doesn't make the bike understeer, but seriously reduces reaction time on the constantly swerving stripe.

Prepare to be frustrated a lot, because crashing is punishment, big time. The screen centers on the speed stripe very slowly, and you need to begin working your speed up from zero again all the while your fuel is being spent.

Your competition race on a preset course with a set max speed, they never avoid you if in front, and always if coming from behind. Hitting the competition with your body makes you crash, bike contact generally just reduces speed.

Hints

Do not use the keyboard if you want to do well. The game requires reflexes and pinpoint precision keyboard control propably can't provide. A joystick is your best friend.

Give yourself a while to get accustomed to the game's "physics" and the pattern the course flows. With experience you start learning to anticipate how and when to turn, and what's coming next. The "goggles" on the top right have arrows, which show you towards the optimal position until you master it yourself. Pushing yourself down or the the side acts as a "brake", so use that to gain some reaction time in a curve.

NEVER crash, it costs fuel. The game just goes on and on as far as I know (and my records were somewhere in the 70k mark if I remember correctly), so ability to keep gaining score is the only goal in the game.

The roadside poles follow the stripe and the stripe only. If you fail in a turn, do not desperately attempt to correct but swerve to the grass and re-enter from there. It's safer and less costly fuelwise, than a crash.

NEVER shoot anyone, it costs a lot of fuel and propably makes you fail at controlling the bike at the same time (the reaction times at fast speeds are ridiculously low).

Master killing your competition. Wait until another racer is just in front of you and raise your bike so it hits the competition's head instead of his bike. The competition crashes and you barely lose speed, if you immediately correct your position back to optimal. Trying to pass from the sides means speed loss and takes you dangerously close to the poles.

Keys

Arrow Keys control direction
Space shoot / select
K accelerate

DOSBox : around 300 cycles is optimal for keyboard response, other settings work on their defaults.

Well, that's about it. Good luck, thanks for the upload and hope these tips helped you fare better. Enjoy one of the less memorable events in recent history

[The Bloodhawk]

Yeah, that was a good comment at the beginning of the review. The problem I have with a lot of new games is that they focus way to much on trivial "game inflation" like pointless "achievements," micromanaging, and gimmicks you'll never have to use in the game, much less remember you have.