Death Race Vis-a-vis Car Wars

[Brian]

Surprised nobody has written a review for Death Race by now. Or maybe somebody did and I missed it but there's definitely not one on page one of EBG.

My wife and I went to see Death Race this weekend (at her suggestion by the way) and I was delivered exactly what I was expecting which is a movie not too long on plot but heavy on vehicular carnage. Needless to say I was satisfied.

So too was the wife especially given her attraction to muscular bald men like Jason Statham and which I am probably the exact opposite of since I have long hair and a belly. Oh well, at least she still loves me.

Moments before leaving the house to go see this movie I received a call from a friend asking if I had any plans for that day. I told him I was going to see Death Race and he said he'd seen it the night before and that he had liked it. I said as long as it looked like something out of Car Wars and didn't ask me to swallow too large a bullshit pill that I'd probably be happy with it too.

I was shocked when my friend asked what Car Wars was so I told him all about the old Steve Jackson pocket games back in the day and detailed the premise of Car Wars for him. He said it sounded cool so I told him to come over after the movie and I would break out the game and teach him how to play.

During the race/battle scenes in the movie I kept thinking how very much like Car Wars this was and couldn't wait to get back home to dig out the old game. Once the movie was over I dug out all my old Car Wars stuff, the original boxed game, Sunday Drivers, Truck Stop, four expansion packs, game screen, and multiple issues of Autoduel Quarterly. I was pissed that I couldn't find my Uncle Alberts catalog since it had some great weapons additions in it.

Once my friend arrived I ran him through the basic rules and how to design a few different cars and then we played through a couple of highway chases and then a couple of duels in an arena that I had created over twenty years ago and was still in good shape today.

Man, it was great to go from the Death Race movie almost directly to playing Car Wars for the first time in over twenty years.

Needless to say, I'll probably be picking up Death Race on DVD. I might even try to dig up a copy of the original Death Race 2000 and have a double feature night some day.

[Peacedog]

Death Race looks like it'd be a good fit for the low(er)-tech metal armor setup to me. No fancy plastic alloys and heavy lasers here.

[The Meal]

I'm so in!

[Daehawk]

The previews make me want to play I-76 again.

[The Preacher]

And this would be a great strategy remake.

[Brian]

The previews make me want to play I-76 again.

My two all time favorite PC games are Privateer and I'76.

Given that Death Race takes place in an enclosed arena style track it was far more reminiscent of Car Wars than I'76 but yeah, all it needed was some funky groove and it would have fit in nicely in the I'76 world.

[Isgrimnur]

The geography in I'76 was all wrong. I lived in that area of Texas. There are no mountains.

[geezer]

Surprised nobody has written a review for Death Race by now. Or maybe somebody did and I missed it but there's definitely not one on page one of EBG.

My wife and I went to see Death Race this weekend (at her suggestion by the way) and I was delivered exactly what I was expecting which is a movie not too long on plot but heavy on vehicular carnage. Needless to say I was satisfied.

So too was the wife especially given her attraction to muscular bald men like Jason Statham and which I am probably the exact opposite of since I have long hair and a belly. Oh well, at least she still loves me.

Moments before leaving the house to go see this movie I received a call from a friend asking if I had any plans for that day. I told him I was going to see Death Race and he said he'd seen it the night before and that he had liked it. I said as long as it looked like something out of Car Wars and didn't ask me to swallow too large a bullshit pill that I'd probably be happy with it too.

I was shocked when my friend asked what Car Wars was so I told him all about the old Steve Jackson pocket games back in the day and detailed the premise of Car Wars for him. He said it sounded cool so I told him to come over after the movie and I would break out the game and teach him how to play.

During the race/battle scenes in the movie I kept thinking how very much like Car Wars this was and couldn't wait to get back home to dig out the old game. Once the movie was over I dug out all my old Car Wars stuff, the original boxed game, Sunday Drivers, Truck Stop, four expansion packs, game screen, and multiple issues of Autoduel Quarterly. I was pissed that I couldn't find my Uncle Alberts catalog since it had some great weapons additions in it.

Once my friend arrived I ran him through the basic rules and how to design a few different cars and then we played through a couple of highway chases and then a couple of duels in an arena that I had created over twenty years ago and was still in good shape today.

Man, it was great to go from the Death Race movie almost directly to playing Car Wars for the first time in over twenty years.

Needless to say, I'll probably be picking up Death Race on DVD. I might even try to dig up a copy of the original Death Race 2000 and have a double feature night some day.

Car Wars was my favorite. I had a contribution back in the Uncle Alberts catalog back in the day I came across the "new" version a few years back - super streamlined , but it just didn't appeal like the old one did.

Sadly, Car Wars seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.

My other old fave, Star Fleet Battles, seems to be chugging along with a small but crazy fan base though.

[KiloOhm]

And this would be a great strategy remake.

Oh man please - my Favorite game ever.

Car Wars was a lot of fun too. When I first saw this movie I thought it might be a remake of Death Race 2000 but the previews make it seem not to be.

[gameoverman]

I saw Death Race over the weekend.

It's not really worth it's own thread, to be honest. However, I thought it was entertaining enough as a car mayhem action movie.

On the downside, you lose the social satire by isolating it to a prisoner only participation sport. On the upside, it works well as a prequel to the original movie, because you can clearly see how the next progression in this society would be to put this Death Race on the open road for maximum ratings(and money).

Oh yeah, this is one movie that actually uses the internet in a realistic way. Whoever wrote this knows how things like online subscriptions and live feeds(maybe a Big Brother fan?) really work.

[Zarathud]

If you like try reading...

Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan

[theohall]

If you like try reading...

Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan

++

That book is Car Wars gone corporate on a world-wide scale. Being another Car Wars (original game owner), Autoduel, I-76 fan - guess this movie turned into a must-see.

[KiloOhm]

It's not really worth it's own thread, to be honest. However, I thought it was entertaining enough as a car mayhem action movie.

SRSLY? Have you seen some of the inane crap we talk about here?

Is this you reading GG:

[Brian]

It's not really worth it's own thread, to be honest. However, I thought it was entertaining enough as a car mayhem action movie.

SRSLY? Have you seen some of the inane crap we talk about here?

Is this you reading GG:

And besides, this thread is half Death Race and half Car Wars.

So there. Pthttptptptptpptpt

[Isgrimnur]

It's not really worth it's own thread, to be honest. However, I thought it was entertaining enough as a car mayhem action movie.

SRSLY? Have you seen some of the inane crap we talk about here?

Is this you reading GG:

Um, it's OO. Thanks for pulling the old wound open. I still have to stop myself from typing the old URL.

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[theohall]

It's not really worth it's own thread, to be honest. However, I thought it was entertaining enough as a car mayhem action movie.

SRSLY? Have you seen some of the inane crap we talk about here?

Is this you reading GG:

Holy crap! Hard copy with coffee???

[Peacedog]

And this would be a great strategy remake.

That car design sucks.

[theohall]

And this would be a great strategy remake.

That car design sucks.

That guys in trouble too. No ammo.

[Debris]

And this would be a great strategy remake.

That car design sucks.

That guys in trouble too. No ammo.

What do you need ammo for when you only have two rockets mounted?

I'd be more worried about the lack of armor.

[The Preacher]

And this would be a great strategy remake.

That car design sucks.

That guys in trouble too. No ammo.

What do you need ammo for when you only have two rockets mounted?

I'd be more worried about the lack of armor.

I actually reacquired Autoduel last night after thinking about this. I need a refresher on everything.

[Debris]

And this would be a great strategy remake.

That car design sucks.

That guys in trouble too. No ammo.

What do you need ammo for when you only have two rockets mounted?

I'd be more worried about the lack of armor.

I actually reacquired Autoduel last night after thinking about this. I need a refresher on everything.

Get to Atlantic City and gamble to make easy money. I think $100k was my magic number to be able to afford any cars I wanted. It might take a little time, but you will eventually win big.

[LordMortis]

I loved Autoduel back in the day. I never finished it, though becuase I never owned it. I decided to get it again to play through an emulator a years ago and found it unplayable. The emulator was not so much and the keyboard controls just weren't working for me. Maybe if I bought hand controller or joystick again. But that seems like an awful lot of effort for something that may or may not work and may or may not be fun.

But I loved decking out a van full of armor and running bikes off the road. Who needs ammo when you are driving a van full of plate armor.

[gbasden]

Autoduel is second only to Crush, Crumble and Chomp as the game I most want redone for modern hardware. I played it through about 5 years ago again and it was still a whole lot of fun.

[Brian]

Just think, if Death Race does reasonably well, imagine an Interstate '76 movie someday.

I think it would totally work.

Of course, there's only one person that could play Taurus: Samual Jackson.

And god help me but I could totally see Matthew McConaughey as Groove Champion.

Any thoughts on who should play Jade Champion and Skeeter?