Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home
- January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST
Finally, the good ol' boys are never meanin' no harm on the Playstation, thanks to South Peak Interactive's Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home. Fans of the TV show will get way into the creek-jumpin', nitro-burnin' gameplay, but those indifferent to the Dukes might find the game's low production values a turn-off.
- GamePro Score
- User Score
- Write your review!
Folks, This Here Is Hazzard County
It's been a long time coming, but Dukes of Hazzard fans can finally get behind the wheel of the most widely recognized automobile in TV history, the General Lee. This time the Dukes have to race for home - literally. Boss Hogg wants to foreclose on Uncle Jesse's farm. In the process of getting the money for the mortgage, the duke boys come under suspicion of robbing the Hazzard County Bank. On top of that, a dark figure from Uncle Jesse's past rides into town, hot for a little revenge, Hazzard style. It makes for an intriguing story, one that's true to the TV show the game's based on, and one that can only be solved by lots and lots of really fast driving.
The problem is that the game itself, if you strip away all the Dukes of Hazzard parts, really isn't that hot. The story, the theme and the sounds push a mediocre game engine to its limits, and these limits show in obvious ways. After all, even Bo Duke'll admit that the best driver can only win races if there's a good engine under the hood.
Things Move Kinda Slow Here�
Racing For Home runs on a graphics engine that looks maybe two years old, with chunky textures and uninteresting terrain. Compared to other driving titles (Driver comes to mind), this game looks limited and aged. Cars clip through each other, polygons break up on the side of the road, and textures warp close-up like you're driving on deep mud. On the other hand, props must go to the CG team who put together the cinemas, as they look about as faithful to the Dukes TV show as CG movies can.
Driving the General Lee is different from driving Daisy's Jeep, which is different from Cooter's truck, and so on. Racing for Home puts you in the driver's seat of almost every car in Hazzard County. Your cars control more like something out of Twisted Metal than Gran Turismo, and that's often a bad thing. Most PSX drivers will clamor for slightly more realistic control.
Of course, what Dukes of Hazzard experience would be complete without the voice of Waylon Jennings, that world-famous theme song, and the strained chuckle of Roscoe P. Coltrane? Racing for Home has them all. The game sounds so much like the show that it helps to hide the sub-par graphics engine enough to keep this game fun. You ARE the Duke boys, and the sound erases any question of that.
And That's Just the Way We Like It
Fans of the Dukes will get into this game just because they get to drive the General Lee and outmaneuver Roscoe and Cletus. Others should give the game a rent first, because the sub-par graphics and the funky controls will turn off most hardcore driving-game fans. Racing For Home just doesn't beat all you ever saw.
