Game of the Day - Power Drift

You may have noticed that there aren't a lot of driving games that are GOTDs.  While I enjoy some, it has never been my favorite genre.  Many of them look, feel and play pretty much the same from the same era.  I can't say exactly why, but to me, Power Drift is an exception.

First, I really like the look.  The 3D sprites come at you with lots of motion and flair.  The game has accomplished combining a cute, cartoony look with effective racing.  The graphics are rounded and colorful and add a lot to the personality of the game.  And the game has loads of personality.  From having little pics of each driver and what place they are in, to winding bridges you can zoom up and/or fly off of.  In fact, the quick up and down motion of the bridges and ramps came dangerously close to giving me Ecco the Dolphin Syndrome.  Even the map of the track on the right of the screen just looks a little better and more detailed than most similar games.

The controls are good.  You can be competitive from the very beginning, but you also can't dominate easily.  The controls are intended to be analog (it was a steering wheel and two pedals in the arcade), but I actually used the joystick successfully in MAME and didn't even try the spinner.

Another thing that I like are that the races are short and sweet.  No boring long runs where you don't see other cars.  And the variety is excellent - there are (apparently) 25 tracks in all that you play in 5 groups of 5 races.  (There are also unlockable bonus tracks, though I haven't seen them).

Other than the steering, there's the gas and the brake along with a gear shift (low or high).  By the way, does anyone ever use the brake in most of the racing games?

Play it and keep trying to beat your times and scores, it's quick, good fun.