Presented in an overhead isometric perspective, a single player races a radio-controlled car around a series of tracks. The objective of each track is to qualify for the next race by placing in the top three racers. Players collect items to improve performance, and they must avoid a variety of hazards such as rain puddles and oil slicks. It is an example of a racing game which features vehicular combat, in which racers can use missiles and bombs to temporarily disable opposing vehicles. The game distanced itself from earlier racing titles by using an overhead, instead of a first-person, perspective. Reviews have cited it as inspiration for future games such as Super Off Road, Rock n' Roll Racing, and the Mario Kart series. It has appeared in many "top games of all time" lists and is regarded as one of the best titles in the NES library.
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It took me a bit to get adjusted to not just the controls, but also the perspective that this game is at.
After I did, I realized that many of the courses look too much like each other, and considering its arcade-like design, there is no ending, you just play until you get a game over.
That's fine and all, but besides the upgrade system, which is a cool idea, there's not much more to this game.
Good to pop in every once in a while for mindless fun.
The controls get some getting used to as you use left and right to turn. This makes sense in writing but can sometimes be disorientating in the isometric view, where pointing in the direction you want to travel would be more intuitive. Once you get used to it, you’ll be blasting through the tracks.
Dotted along the tracks are missiles, bombs and upgrades. Collecting a missile or bomb will change your whole stock into that type, which can be annoying if you want the other item. Upgrades will speed up your car permanently, and collecting them all slows down the rate the other cars can upgrade, which is important as if you let them upgrade, all of them will be unbeatable.
The game is fairly generous in that you only need to place 3rd (out of 4) to progress. Doing this is still difficult, and sometimes getting first place is an impossibility as the AI racers can outright cheat, zooming ahead while you’re at the highest possible speed in the game. Luckily they don’t use weapons against you. In the last race, I had around 80 bombs, so I used them every time an opponent came close. Due to the AI cheating, I ended up using around 70 of these in this one race alone to keep them at bay.
Still, as 3rd place is the main requirement, RC Pro-Am is still a fun racing game due to its sense of speed.
Completion is getting 3rd or better on all tracks, then the snapshots. The ones for RC Pro-Am have been the hardest so far, with one where you have to hit 5 opponents with missiles (the east part) and then win the race (which is mainly hoping you get lucky with the AI), and one where you start more than a lap behind, where you need to complete 9 perfect laps without touching the sides or slowing down to catch up and win.