Crazy Cars III (1992)

The game is essentially an upgrade from Titus Interactive previous entry in the Crazy Cars series, Crazy Cars III. It adds a two player mode and a few more options. The objective of the game is to become the undisputed champion of illegal races in the U.S.A.. To do so, the player must race against a group of computer controlled opponents in a variety of illegal races across the country. The races are divided into three leagues, each one with increasingly harder opponents, and the player needs to regularly upgrade his Lamborghini Diablo in order to keep him above the rest of drivers, by using the money from bets as well as the bonuses obtained when finishing races in the first place. The races themselves take place in a variety of scenarios (mountain roads, the desert, urban settings) and they include weather conditions such as rain and snow. At the end of each league, and in order to be able to join the next one, the player has to go through a "challenge", consisting of a timed race in a highway infested with trucks. Despite the game obtaining mostly positive reviews, a major source of complaints came from the saving system. Players are allowed to save their progress once every four races. Since the game requires the player to always finish in first place in order to progress further into the game, this means players needed to win four races in a row before saving their progress.

Storyline

You've just arrived in the United States with your heart set on becoming a millionaire. As your only skill is advanced race-driver training, you decide to enter the Saturday Night Races tournament of illegal highway challenges. As chance would have it, you run into an old friend down on his luck. In order to recoup some of his lost wealth, he sells you his prized Lamborghini Diablo at a rock-bottom price. This uses up all but a few thousand dollars of your life savings. Despite your lack of funds, your sights are firmly set on reaching the first division of this competition. To do this, you must start by winning easy races in Division 4, until you have enough skill and money to enter more difficult ones. When you feel confident enough in your driving abilities, you may try the Division Challenge. If you succeed, you will progress to the next diviison. Races become more challenging as you progress, but you can buy more sophisticated equipment and win greater prices.