Format: PlayStation
Publisher: Nichibutsu
Developer: Nichibutsu
First release: 1996
Availability: NTSC J only
Version tested: PS1
So far on Digital Drift/Racer, we have reviewed games we would recommend to players so in the interest of balance, we are heading down a dark road with this review. Released in 1996 by the now defunct Nichibutsu, Deadheat Road is the ultimate in budget development. Either that or just a lack of skill..
Graphics:
The first thing that hits you in Deadheat Road is the incredibly ropey opening FMV. 3D car modelling was clearly not something the development team had proficiency with and the road textures are poor, the entire thing just doesn’t look good.
Once past that, the player is greeted with a quite lovely Side Pocket style title screen. It sets quite a nice example of what the game could be.
Unfortunately, the title is the high point of the entire experience. Once you delve into the game itself, you are greeted with bland menus, sparse locations and the most accidentally remarkable car models in gaming history.
Those car models then, they really are quite special. The FD model represents the Mazda RX7 and looks more like a toy saloon than a sporty coupe! The other three models we could find to use in the game are marginally better. The Skyline model looks reasonable but then it is based on a somewhat boxy car in the first place. There is also a wonderfully squared off Porsche which sadly we could not unlock for use. We were genuinely upset by this.
The tracks are vague representations of Tokyo’s highways, much like in the Shutokou Battle games. They offer grey roads and buildings with brightly lit tunnels and some quite well modelled traffic. Sadly the traffic at times merge through each other and take corners in a crazily exaggerated fashion which just makes the whole thing look a bit Benny Hill. There is also a night into day change on some races which is solid enough. Frame rate is impressive though and the game runs well pretty much all of the time, maintaining around 30 fps. There is also a village style track that has the typical Japanese temples and trees. Like the city tracks, it looks very grey and dull but does run nicely.
Sound:
Audio is Deadheat Road is exceptionally unremarkable. The engines are serviceable, collision noises serve the purpose they are used for and music inoffensive but forgettable.
Get ready for the race!
Gameplay:
Despite the sub-par quality of the game in terms of presentation, Deadheat Road actually controls fairly well. The driving is fast and smooth and the overall drifting system, which uses a brake/accelerator drift mechanic much like in Ridge Racer. You should approach a turn, lift off the accelerator and apply the brakes and steer into the turn. The angle and speed must be controlled carefully by feathering the throttle or ensuring you approach at the right speed. This works quite well until you come into contact with another car or the barriers because the collision system is absolutely awful. Whilst the drift mechanic is solid, these collisions have no physics and feel cheap and glitchy. In general the cars have nothing to them, they do not lean into turns and generally feel deviod of weight.
The racing itself isn’t particularly exciting with the AI not offering too much of a challenge once you have mastered the basic drifting. It can be a little fun when you manage to nail a series of tricky turns without coming into contact with another car or the barriers, but ultimately excitement levels are low.
Content:
Deadheat Road offers a couple of city based tracks and one track set in the outskirts of town. There are six cars with three unlocked from the start. The modes of play are Deadheat Road which is an arcade style racing ‘career’, Free Road and Trial Road modes are self-explanatory diversions to the main game. The problem with Deadheat Road is that the main single player mode is extremely repetitive and any sort of progress seems non-existent. You choose a circuit and then proceed to race on the circuit on what seems like the same conditions for about ten races (we lost count) and then you are taken back the menu with hopefully some new content unlocked. After around 6 hours of wins, we only unlocked one car and the extra track.
There is a save game feature as you would expect, however loading a game and continuing is incredibly difficult and just doesn’t seem to work well. You cannot load a game until after you have selected a circuit and return back to the circuit menu. If we managed it once, we have since forgotten.
Everything in the game is so poorly delivered, it makes you wonder why the developers didn’t just mirror the design progress of Ridge Racer more closely.
Summary:
Deadheat Road is a poor racing experience. Absolutely shocking presentation mixed with a terrible physics engine and only occasionally engaging driving make for an experience that is only worth looking into for the sake of curiosity. It is cheap though, and quite smooth.
Verdict: Bad.
Digital Drift/Racer 