"Innovative racing game hurt by bad controls"

Most car-racing games involve running laps around a track, but what makes “Enduro” for the Atari 2600 so unique is that it's a cross-country race. It's not the best first-person driver, but it certainly was innovative for its time.

PRESS FIRE TO START

It's obvious “Enduro” was inspired by other early driving games like “Pole Position” since the basic layout of the screen, as well as the rules and object of the game are similar. But instead of racing around the same small track, this game steps it up a notch by making the course full of various terrain under different weather conditions as well as the time of day. You play as an Indy car racing down a road that zigs and zags more often than not. You start out each “day” with a quota of cars you must pass in order to race again the next day. If you complete five straight days you beat the game.

The game has two unique takes on the usual racing formula. 1) If you're passed by the other cars you must catch up to them and re-pass them to reach your quota. 2) If you hit another car you don't crash and explode, you're simply bumped to the other side of the track. This can be rage-inducing because the process is so slow.

PLAYER 1 – READY!

Initially, “Enduro” is a refreshing game due to the length and variation of the course itself. If you're able to make it to the later days it's unlikely you'll be able to remember where all the twists and turns are, so it's challenging every time you play. It's also a surprisingly fast-paced game, so players that enjoy games of dexterity and quick-thinking will probably enjoy the gameplay here.

However, this cart does have a few features that hinder the gameplay, namely: no speedometer, gear-shift or brake.

It's impossible to gauge how fast you're going despite the fact you can hear the gears shifting. It's like once you reach your highest gear it starts all over again, yet you seem to be traveling at the exact same speed. But the problem is the gears never stop shifting! A simple speedometer would have really helped in this instance.

Since you can't brake you'd think you could just let go of the accelerator (the button) and you'd slow down, right? Wrong. Basically, you're either stopped or you're at maximum speed. Trying to finesse your velocity is the key to mastering this game and it's quite a challenge.

JOYSTICKING

Unlike “Pole Position” where the opponents are spaced fairly evenly, or at least well enough apart that you can slip in and out of traffic, “Enduro” is more primitive in its gameplay concept. The cars will fly at you in large groups at a time, almost always in the same lane, but this is actually more difficult than it sounds. They're arranged in just such a way that every time you take a turn it's highly likely you'll crash into one of them. This wouldn't have been so aggravating if the play controls weren't so tight. It's not that this game is a strict adherent to the laws of centrifugal force, just that the controls aren't as responsive as they should be.

The portion of the track covered in snow is a virtually unplayable section of the game. Even when you're driving on apparently normal highway the controls are slow, so you can imagine how much of a burden it is to play on this winter track.

SPRITES & PIXELS

Overall, the visuals to “Enduro” are impressive due to a vivid color scheme which is nice on the eyes. The graphics scroll surprisingly smooth for such a high-speed game, especially for one of this era. My only complaint would be the fact all the cars are monochrome and look like the amoebas from “Asteroids” in the distance. They are a bit more detailed once you pass them, but because the game is so fast-paced you can't really get a good look at them unless you crash.

CHIPPED TUNES

It's funny how so many games in the VCS library have horrific sounds, especially when it comes to any kind of engine or motors. “Enduro” is a bit different because these cars actually sound like cars, not pure noise or chainsaws. It even throws in the sound effects of the gears shifting which is a nice detail (but is kind of annoying because they never STOP shifting!). There is no background music, but overall, the sound palette is fairly high in quality and compliments the gameplay well.

INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE

Since this game actually has an end to it and is played over a lengthy amount of time (relatively speaking), it doesn't have quite the same appeal as those other racers. “Enduro” is fun to play at the time, but once you reach game over you're not likely to hit reset right away.

GAME OVER

“Enduro” is one of those games you know could've been a classic if just a few minor problems hadn't held it down. It's impressive visually, sonically and in overall concept, but the play control really hurts the gameplay. It's good for what it is, but it could have been so much better.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/08

Game Release: Enduro (US, 1983)