A normal drive down the M1

Producer: Elite
Squashed Hedgehogs: £7.99 cass, £12.99 disk
Author: Gargoyle Games

Juggernauts are often seen zooming uncontrollably down the motorway (and through Ludlow's cobbled lanes), jack-knifing and causing pile-ups. So perhaps it's not too surprising that people with a taste for danger (Mike Smith etc) like to race them.

However, instead of racing round Silverstone, you're travelling across Europe. Starting in London and heading first for either Paris or Brussels, depending on which route is taken at junctions. Obviously the Channel Tunnel has already been built - you drive straight from England to the Continent. Further racing takes you to other European capitals.

At the side of the undulating track are huge advertising hoardings. Contact with these or other trucks brings you to a grinding halt, eating into a very strict time limit. If more than a couple of small mistakes are made, you won't reach the end of the stage.

The fast-scrolling track is impressive, although all sections of the race look alike. But what really disappoints is the lack of gameplay variety - all there is to do is avoid the other trucks. The only original feature are the junctions. Otherwise, Supertrux is exceptionally ordinary.

PHIL [59%]

THE ESSENTIALS
Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: fast-scrolling 3-D track
Sound: simple engine noises
Options: definable keys

I'm a great fan of racing games, but I don't think I'll be coming back to Supertrux. We've seen it all before, and much better. The hills work nicely as a graphic effect, but they make the gameplay incredibly frustrating. You can't see the down-side of a hill when coming up it, so inevitably there are always a couple of trucks waiting to hit you on the other side! The edges of the track are different from the usual in that you can't go over them; the slightest contact sends you skidding all over the place - not a particularly pleasing feature. All in all, Supertrux is a frustrating, poor version of a prehistoric idea. Give it a miss (a big one).
MIKE [46%]

Elite
£7.99
Reviewer: Ben Stone

We've had racing car games. We've had motorcycle racing games. We've had games about sandy buggy racing. Come to think of it, since the dawn of the computer game we've had racing games starring just about every animate object and some not so animate objects too. The staggering thing is that most of the games I've seen in the last couple of years have basically been the same game with one or two extra bits swopped around between them for a bit of light relief.

Anyway just when you thought it was safe to go back onto the race track, in roars Elite with Supertrux, which, I'm sad to say, is yet another combination of the fab bits from past racing games with two original features, trucks and silent-o-vision (a new and exciting way to enjoy Computer Entertainment Software!)

The scenario fills you in about the coveted Supertrux Trophy - the award for winning a trucks only, city to city, long distance race around Europe. The race takes the adventurous Truckers through nine European cities - some feat considering the reputation of drivers from across the channel.

The race starts off, as many other racing games do, at a set of lights with your truck at pole position. Once the race gets underway warnings of sharp bends, roadworks, hills and the like are displayed in a status area located at the top left of the screen. Be warned, though, taking your eyes off the road to have a quick look at the status bar isn't advised. Hazards, mainly in the form of other trucks, roadworks or both, are quick to appear and difficult to avoid - you ask any driving instructor!

Your 30 tonnes of turbocharged racing truck is controlled in a fairly standard way. Four keys/joystick positions represent left, right, accelerate and decelerate to stop. Driving it, however, is slightly less clear cut - throughout play I had a strange feeling that I was sitting in the backseat desperately prodding keys and having very little control of what was actually happening on screen - rather like driving on ice. Despite this I managed to get quite far into the game but I'll put this down to luck rather than skill.

The race is, as usual, against the clock. You get about a minute and a half to complete each section, cover enough road in time and the highly unexpected and original message "Extended Play" flashes up - crash once too often and you've had it.

A little strategy is involved every few thousand miles or so because the road forks, OutRun style. You can choose either fork but some roads are longer or have more hazards to deal with than others, so it'll take quite a while to find the best route to take.

Supertrux isn't graphically bad, most things are undetailed though, giving the impression that everything was worked out in crayon before actually going into the computer. The way the road moves is very nice though, for instance when you take a hard right corner, the left hand side of the road slides off screen a little giving a very real impression of movement.

The road also moves up and down when you are going over a hill, this backfires badly though, because when you reach the top, most of the road in front of you is covered up by the large sprite of your own truck. The only things clear are the other trucks, usually driving around twenty feet up in the air because the computer can't handle many of them at once! Some scenes, especially the ones with overhead signs suffer from the Spectrum's slowness too - a better idea would have been to leave them out so saving the game from tedious stretches of small racing.

I think the whole game suffered badly from the lack of sound effects, aggravating as it may be, the endless drone of a meaty engine and a few tyre screeches would have done miracles to Supertrux's playability and addictive qualities.

Overall I'd stay away from this unless you're of the freak brigade who really get off on naff racing games. It's no improvement on Activision's two year old Enduro Racer and this hasn't even got ramps to jump over.

Label: Elite
Author: In-house
Price: £8.95
Memory: 48K/128K
Joystick: various
Reviewer: Jim Douglas

LUCAS LUCAS LUCAS LUCAS! Get those signs out of my way! Bigger, smaller, bigger, smaller (fruk). I can't tell whether they're at the side of the track or half way across it, coming towards me or going away. Worst of all I can't tell how much room I've got to get between the hoardings and the lorry on the edge of the track. Kersmassh! Well, there we are.

Supertrux is based on, in my view, the exceedingly dull and stupid business of racing lorry cabs around racetracks. I can't really get especially enthusiastic about this and so the bonus novelty value of racing taking on the character of a sweaty beardy tattooed drunkard doesn't really appeal (talk about typecasting - AS) was a bit wasted on me. Still, whatever the physical state you're in, the business of racing round a track is the same is the same is the same.

I guess this is where Elite have started to make life tricky for themselves. There hasn't exactly been a shortage of 3D driving games on the market recently, all with all manner of super features. Obviously, features will be compared.

Supertrux doesn't do badly at all in the comparison stakes. It's got bumps and hills and the ground rises and falls and it twists and turns and splits. The problems associated with controlling a three-ton engine with about as many aerodynamic qualities as a fridge at speeds of up to 125 mph (?) are also present. The biggest problem is that you've got very limited control of the truck. You can't steer too sharply and braking is a waste of time. By the time you've hit the anchors, the momentum of the truck will have smashed you into the object you were trying to avoid.

In other areas, though, it does fall down. The update rate and position of the signs along the sides of the road are such that the "coming towards you" effect is not only unconvincing, but positively distracting and detrimental. You can't tell whether you can just squeeze past an obstacle, since it moves so jerkily the edge of the road looks more like something out of the lights sequence in Dark Star than a fair representation of oncoming objects. Since there's so much confusing activity on the side of the road, your attention wanders from what's actually going on. Thankfully the other trucks seem a lot less malicious than in other games. They'll stay out of your way after a crash for a few seconds at least.

The graphics are perfectly fine. The truck rocks from side to side and there are puffs of dust and squealy rubber from the tyres. You graduate to different stages and different sorts of roads.

Most of the elements are fine, but the hateful 3D and the fact that it is definitely too difficult at the start put it below games like Wec Le Mans and Enduro Racer.

Label: Encore
Price: £2.99
Reviewer: Gary Redrup

Imagine driving 30 tons of truck around 9 different cities fun eh? Not in this game it isn't. Your truck doesn't even look 30 tonnes and its smaller than all the other trucks and they only look about seven stone. This is another of Elite's re-releases from 1988 and why anybody would have bought this when it was at full price baffles me.

It has got that please just one more go appeal to it. And it has a good degree of difficulty to it so you get just that little bit further each time you play it. But while all the basics are included; opponents to race, crashes, time limits, even different backdrops, Super Trux is simply a bit rough around the edges.

The other trucks in the race seem to be completely blind to the fact that you are on the same road as them. If you crash into them your speed (0-125 kph!) goes down rapidity, this also happens of you bump into any of the roadside signs like Dunlop bridges or BMW signs. But the way it scrolls up and down hills is quite a nice touch and there is a useful box in the top right hand corner telling you what hazard is coming up.

Unfortunately the controls are very unresponsive, especially on joystick - so its better to play with keys which are redefinable but even they are a bit dodgy. You do get the impression of speed quite well but the scrolling goes to pieces on the corners and the junction screen-flip is less than elegant.

Monochrome is the order of the day; the background (and everything else) are either yellow, green, pink(?) or blue. At least it varies each stage and by turning left or right at junctions you can visit different cities (Necessitating a new-load on 48K machines). Unfortunately sound is practically non-existent which is a shame. Even the engine noise doesn't really liven things up.

Super Trux is fine, but utterly uninspiring. The novelty value of driving big trucks instead of cars/bikes doesn't last long (they're just bigger objects). There are plenty of driving games offering more fun. Personally, I'd rather spend the extra £6 on Chase H.Q or Turbo Outrun.

Encore
Spectrum/C64/Amstrad £2.99

What's big, well 'ard and weighs 30 tons? A truck. What can you do with a truck? Well, you could always hurl it around nine European cities in order to win that most coveted of awards, the Supertrux Trophy. Just think, racing around the streets of Europe, and er, well, that's just about it, really. As driving games go, this re-release is a tad behind the rest of the pack. Driving around is a bit simplistic (wot, no gear change?), and the graphics overall look a bit duff. However, if you are absolutely desperate for a racer, and you don't have the wonga for a full-price game, you could do a heck of a lot worse than take a peek at this.

Spectrum 48/128 Cassette: £7.99, Diskette: £12.99
Amstrad CPC Cassette: £9.99, Diskette: £14.99
Commodore 64/128 Cassette: £9.99, Diskette: £11.99

THUNDERING, YORKIE-EATING ACTION

Most lorry drivers simply transport goods and scare the hell out of motorists in the fast lane, but your average Supertrux driver is made of stronger stuff. These boys don't want to drive - they want to race , The biggest and best truck race is the Supertrux Trophy, a trans-Europe event taking drivers from London to Athens, via many famous cities on the way.

All participating trucks have automatic gears, so its simply a case of accelerating, decelerating and steering. This doesn't mean the race is easy - just staying on the course is a higher priority than taking the lead. But twisting roads with unexpected dips and slopes, and other vicious truck drivers are only part of the problem. The organisers of the Supertrux Trophy race are obviously incompetent, as the route they have chosen is strewn liberally with roadworks. All in all it's going to take some mean driving to complete each stage within the testing time limit.

Simulating a race between 30-ton trucks could hardly be called as easy task, but Elite have decided to produce a relatively simple Out Run variant, with truck sprites thrown in as vehicles. On all formats the perspective of curves and slopes is fairly effective and the route through Europe is variable. Not only can you choose the city you head for, but also in mid-stage you have to choose between two types of road - slippery or bumpy. for example.