Scorcher was my favorite racing game as a kid. There are so many unique dynamics about it that set it apart from all of the other classics like Road Rash or X-Car Racing. The graphics were great for the time, and the controls felt so natural and smooth.
One of my favorite features of the game was the fact that you were a ball, so your sideways movement was very fluid and you could “roll” around corners, up banked turns, stuff like that.
It came in handy in many situations, and it just added a very interesting feel to things. You never had to worry about flipping over or landing on the wrong side. The sphere surrounding you also doubled as a damage meter, because it faded from being bright green (maximum health) to a kind of beaten-up pale green-brown colour (low health). The whole idea was very cool.
I also liked the maps. They were very creatively designed, the power-ups were fantastic, and again, the graphics were pretty good considering when the game was made. There were lots of hills and jumps and things you could just go flying right off of. The power ups were always in the right places, too. The sound was also
very good in this game. Very thick and environmental, really helped bring you into the game. I can still remember the sound those speed-arrows on the ground made when you hit them. In fact, I’m remembering a lot of things about this game that make me think It’s going to be the first thing I download from this site.
There was a weird feature, too, where you could change how everything looked. Suddenly your green ball would be gone, the maps would be in 3-D geometrical shapes, that kind of thing. It helps you navigate sometimes, but it also just looks really cool. The levels were always getting progressively more interesting, too. I don’t think any of the maps looked like any of the others. The AI was decent, too, those computer players could be kind of tricky at times.
I never really understood the plot or what the hell you were actually supposed to be driving, but it was a great game nevertheless. It’s one of those games with a certain inexplicable feeling that you can connect only with the game itself. Maybe its just nostalgia speaking, but Scorcher is one of the best games I remember playing as a kid.
