Fire soundtrack
The tracks and enemy cars don't provide enough danger to feel as hectic and claustrophobic as Pac-Man, but it's decent enough.
(it actually came out before pac-man)
Yet another Namco classic that I don't like as much as the others, but it is still pretty good. You drive around, grab flags, avoid other cars and boulders while you do so, and use smoke screens to slow them down. It is very simple, and would be outshined just a year later by New Rally-X, but it still holds up despite that.
Game #146
Game #146
This is just Pac-Man but with cars
Rally-X is a dystopian horror racer where an unlucky sunday driver has their foot fall asleep on the accelerator of their car with malfunctioning brakes, while in the meantime being chased by cops who in 2040 are allowed to kill misdemeaning drivers via vehicular manslaughter. Their one stroke of luck in this horrific episode is that they ate a José Olé burrito prior and can pass gas to dizzy the bloodthirsty pigs coming after them.
It's alright, but I had more fun headcanoning this game than playing it.
It's alright, but I had more fun headcanoning this game than playing it.
Fine, but no reason to play it when New Rally-X is usually right next to it in compilations.
Life is just driving through a maze, trying to get to your flags. You have an idea of how to navigate things, but can't see till it's up close. You grab flags and then BANG! Gone in an instant. You can sacrifice some of your fuel to slow them down but they WILL catch up to you, usually when you least expect it. Life can be Charaging, but don't give up. Press on and you'll maybe be lucky enough to be in someone else's shadow.
Cryptic writing aside, it's an alright game that'd be a fun little diversion at an arcade.
Cryptic writing aside, it's an alright game that'd be a fun little diversion at an arcade.
It's an OK arcade game, but loses appeal quickly. New Rally-X is better.
Classic game
I always called tha move to hit the other cars the fart ability
I always called tha move to hit the other cars the fart ability
This was always one of my favorites of the old-school Namco Arcade games. Fun, fast-paced and incredibly tensing.
I guess in 1980, Namco looked at Pac-Man's success and said, "how can we get people to basically just keep playing Pac-Man without having to really design anything new?" So they came up with Rally-X. A game that is basically Pac-Man with cars and more zoomed in and features more than one map (thankfully).
And it isn't bad. The little tunes in it and the bonus flag are enduring elements of Namco history, and the game itself is fun enough. I like that instead of trying to create something with a lot of graphical fidelity, they chose instead to create a more blocky game with thick outlines, etc, giving it a stylized feel even for the early time period.
The core element of trying to find the bonus flag first to double the score of each flag picked up afterwards is a neat one. You can also use fuel to blow smoke out your tailpipe, temporarily halting chasing cars. Everything plays together nicely mechanic wise. There's some fun to be had here for sure.
3.5 - Good: A good game that lacks something to take it to greatness
And it isn't bad. The little tunes in it and the bonus flag are enduring elements of Namco history, and the game itself is fun enough. I like that instead of trying to create something with a lot of graphical fidelity, they chose instead to create a more blocky game with thick outlines, etc, giving it a stylized feel even for the early time period.
The core element of trying to find the bonus flag first to double the score of each flag picked up afterwards is a neat one. You can also use fuel to blow smoke out your tailpipe, temporarily halting chasing cars. Everything plays together nicely mechanic wise. There's some fun to be had here for sure.
3.5 - Good: A good game that lacks something to take it to greatness
Not even worth a try especially when New Rally-X exists, very boring game that is horrible to look at
The game is fine and the Special Flag is fittingly iconic, but I feel like it ages somewhat poorly compared to many of its contemporaries. When taken as a maze game, the AI is a bit annoying and bad compared to Pac-Man which released the same year and is simply a more complex and interesting maze game.
Then you look only two years later and see Ms. Pac-Man and Dig Dug release and Rally-X just ends up not looking all that special. Not awful, but I would be hard-pressed to return to it any time soon, while Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man have enduring quality.
Then you look only two years later and see Ms. Pac-Man and Dig Dug release and Rally-X just ends up not looking all that special. Not awful, but I would be hard-pressed to return to it any time soon, while Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man have enduring quality.