Developer: CSK Publisher: American Softworks Corporation Release: 09/9/99 Genre: Racing
Despite its short life the Dreamcast built up a more than respectable library in certain genres. Fighting games, sports, and racing games were well represented and if you were a fan the system had an embarrassment of riches. Unfortunately not every title is a banger and there are plenty of middling titles trying to distract you from the classics. TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat was able to stand at the Dreamcast launch due to its focus on off-road racing. But outside of that it is an average title with control issues that is a chore to play.
Sega’s delay of Sega Rally 2 created an opportunity for the smaller racing games to shine. But for the most part the early Dreamcast entries in the genre were mostly PC or PlayStation ports. Even Sega did not go all out with their arcade ports: we all expected (or maybe hoped?) for Scud Race and Daytona 2. Instead we got 18-Wheeler: American Pro Trucker. We would get quality eventually but had to suffer through some guff to get there.
In the features department Hardcore Heat comes loaded. There is the standard Championship mode, practice, split screen multiplayer, and time attack. You can freely adjust many facets of each vehicle such as front and rear suspension, tire grip, and brakes to modify the handling to how you like. You can also add decals too. Practice mode is not what you think and worthless in my opinion. Rather than allow you to run through each course it takes place on one long endless course with ramps, a few hills and obstacles but no turns. Driving in a straight line will not give you an idea of the game’s obtuse physics engine and controls.
The level checker mode is the most interesting but also similarly undercooked. Here you can build up an AI driver by running them through tests. The AI is graded and gives you an idea of which tracks it can handle and room to improve. But it is so dumb that you would need to spend an inordinate amount of time training it to be worth a damn. That is time you can spend racing yourself. It is a nice idea in theory but needed more work.
I like the pacing of the game’s Championship mode. You receive based on position. But unlike most racing games the AI is random and not fixed and it entirely possible to win without coming in first at all. Normal consists of three tracks with only two laps each. The courses available are perfect for easing you in to the game’s mechanics and do not ask much of you. Hard adds one more course at the start, France. This track is a bit more manic with its uneven terrain but not too difficult. Now every race has three laps. Expert is a full run through of all six courses. The AI is more aggressive at jockeying for position and by this point you need a good grasp of the game’s handling. Unfortunately this is where the game comes up short.
First the good. The track design is generally pretty good. Each of the six courses is well designed and covers a variety of terrain. You will drive through sandy dunes, gravel streets, and snow covered roads, all with plenty of hills and bumps that send you careening through the air. This is surprising as most of the cars available are monster trucks. The time of day varies along with the weather and that will also have an effect on handling. I found the default controls unwieldy at first but came to grips with them with practice. A few vehicle adjustments made them feel better. What ultimately dooms Hardcore Heat is its physics.
The physics model in Hardcore Heat is awful. I can think of few racing games with physics that I have disliked as much as this. The game does not know if it wants to be a simulation or arcade racer. Catching air off a hill can either be straightforward or send you flipping end over end. Once you start to slide (which is often) you will spin uncontrollably with no way to stop. Counter steering or using the hand brake does nothing. It is also an agonizingly slow process and can and will frequently cost your position. My biggest successes working around this was to try and steer into each turn as little as possible. The lack of consistency is infuriating. It did not prevent me from winning in the end but was frustrating enough that I have no desire to ever revisit the game.
In Closing
TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat is the type of game you rent out of desperation early in a system’s launch and forget soon after. The good track design is let down by a terrible physics model that leaves the game a barely controllable mess. Better racing games like Speed Devils and Hydro Thunder make this one obsolete.
