Saturday Night Speedway

"A decent game"

Saturday Night Speedway is a dirt racing game from Ratbag. It isn't the best game, but it's still decent.

Gameplay 6/10: The arcade mode is fun. You can race three different classes of cars Pro Stock, Midget, and Late Model on a number of different tracks. However, the tracks are mainly ovals. There's also a time trial mode where you try to set a lap record on a certain track. When your on the track there's a commentator that talks a little bit. The career mode isn't as much fun. In career mode, you work your way up from Pro Stock to Late Model. You race your car, buy upgrades, sign sponsors, and buy new cars. You enter races in a diary. One of the nice thing is you can pick and choose which events you enter. Also, there are quite a few things you can tinker with in the setup. It gets a little boring after a while racing the same ovals against the same drivers again and again. Also, in the pro events, the Al are very difficult to beat. Often, you'll sit there wondering “How are they so fast?”

Graphics 9/10: They did a pretty good job with the graphics. The tracks look very realistic. They all look very unique. Also, the infields look cool. There are lots of neat things in the infield to check out. The cars also look good. Unfortunately, when your car gets damaged, the damage doesn't show up too well. It shows up on your damage thing, but not on your car too much. The only damage thing you see on the car is the engine smoking.

Sound 8/10: There are some good sounds in the game. The engines in the three car classes all sound unique. When you powerslide, it sounds realistic. The beating and banging sounds are also interesting. However the music isn't the best. There are only a few songs.

Play Time/ Replayability 5/10: This game takes a very long time to get through. There's a lot to do in order to complete it.. However, once you complete the game, you can play through it again pretty easily.

Final Recommendation: I'd recommend you rent this game first. You may or may not enjoy this game. If you're a big fan of dirt track racing, buy. If you enjoy racing games, rent. If you're not too big on racing games, skip.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/04