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S.C.A.R.S. (video game)
Encyclopedia
S.C.A.R.S. is a racing
video game featuring cars that are shaped like animals. It was released in 30 November 1998 for the PlayStation
, Nintendo 64
and for Windows.
as it features weapons to use against your opposition while racing, and the computers can do the same to you. The game has four modes: Grand Prix, Challenge and Time Attack.
The object of this game is to compete in the Grand Prix and to unlock new tracks and cars. The difficulty of each tournament is determined by which cup you choose to race for. The first cup you race for is the Carbon cup, and once you've beaten that you will unlock other cups that are based on elements like crystal, and diamond. Once you have won a tournament you will unlock a new cup to compete for, new levels to race in, and the chance to challenge other cars to gain access to them for use in Grand Prix races and vs mode.
While Racing you can acquire weapons located around the tracks to help you finish the race quicker or to slow down your opponents so you can overtake them. The combat system is different from many games, except for having health and being destroyed for a limited amount of time, if you or an enemy is hit by a weapon you will be temporarily be slowed downed which gives your opponent time to overtake you. They're some weapons that can be avoided by using your cars jump jets; all cars have jump jets and can be used to avoid certain weapons, however not all weapons can be avoided even with the Jump Jets.
The weapons are: turbo boost, magnets, seeker-style missiles, a boomerang, time bombs, stingers, stoppers, rounds of bullets, and a shield.
Each car also has stats that represent how well a car will handle, how powerful its weapons are, fast it can go, and how well it can take damage. Cars like the Tiger Shark, Cheetah X12, and Mantis V-Twin are fast racers, but they have weak armour and are hard to control in some stages.
Cars like the Lion L.K, GT Cobra, and Scorpion X2 are average racers having equal stats; having a good balance in speed, damage resistance, and handling.
Cars like the Mammoth 4X4 and Rhino Roadster are heavy racers having powerful weapons, and better handling, but they are slow, and rely on weapons to take advantage of their opponents.
The Phantom Panther is the best car in the game; having maximum stats in all categories of handling, speed, armor, and weapons, which is also the hardest car to unlock.
The Sports Gaming Network reviewed the game in 1999, rating it (out of 100) the Graphics 84, Sound 58, Interface 72, Gameplay 80, Difficulty 88, and overall, 76. It claimed that the graphics were sharp and colourful, the sound being boring and 'dead', the gameplay being somehwat eclectic with future setting and weaponry and cartoon-ish graphics.
Computer & Video Games rated the Windows version in 2001, giving it an overall score of 4.9 out of 10, claiming that the weapons in the game are cool but a bit annoying.
Racing
A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...
video game featuring cars that are shaped like animals. It was released in 30 November 1998 for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
and for Windows.
Gameplay
In this game players take control of cars that take the shape of different animals. The game itself takes the role as a combat racing gameVehicular combat game
Vehicular combat games are typically video or computer games where the primary focus of play concerns automobiles or other vehicles, normally armed with guns or other weaponry, attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players...
as it features weapons to use against your opposition while racing, and the computers can do the same to you. The game has four modes: Grand Prix, Challenge and Time Attack.
The object of this game is to compete in the Grand Prix and to unlock new tracks and cars. The difficulty of each tournament is determined by which cup you choose to race for. The first cup you race for is the Carbon cup, and once you've beaten that you will unlock other cups that are based on elements like crystal, and diamond. Once you have won a tournament you will unlock a new cup to compete for, new levels to race in, and the chance to challenge other cars to gain access to them for use in Grand Prix races and vs mode.
While Racing you can acquire weapons located around the tracks to help you finish the race quicker or to slow down your opponents so you can overtake them. The combat system is different from many games, except for having health and being destroyed for a limited amount of time, if you or an enemy is hit by a weapon you will be temporarily be slowed downed which gives your opponent time to overtake you. They're some weapons that can be avoided by using your cars jump jets; all cars have jump jets and can be used to avoid certain weapons, however not all weapons can be avoided even with the Jump Jets.
The weapons are: turbo boost, magnets, seeker-style missiles, a boomerang, time bombs, stingers, stoppers, rounds of bullets, and a shield.
Cars
All of the cars in the game are based on various animals. There are 9 of them: Lion L.K, Tiger Shark, Rhino Roadster, Mammoth 4X4 , and Mantis V-Twin which are all already available to you when you start the game. The cars needed to unlock are: Scorpion X-2, Cheetah V12, GT Cobra, and the Phantom Panther, which get unlocked when you win cups, and challenge a car that has to be unlocked to be playable; Beat that car in the race and it will be unlocked and available in all modes.Each car also has stats that represent how well a car will handle, how powerful its weapons are, fast it can go, and how well it can take damage. Cars like the Tiger Shark, Cheetah X12, and Mantis V-Twin are fast racers, but they have weak armour and are hard to control in some stages.
Cars like the Lion L.K, GT Cobra, and Scorpion X2 are average racers having equal stats; having a good balance in speed, damage resistance, and handling.
Cars like the Mammoth 4X4 and Rhino Roadster are heavy racers having powerful weapons, and better handling, but they are slow, and rely on weapons to take advantage of their opponents.
The Phantom Panther is the best car in the game; having maximum stats in all categories of handling, speed, armor, and weapons, which is also the hardest car to unlock.
Reception
IGN rated the PS1 version in 1998, saying (out of 10) 8.0 for presentation, 9.0 for graphics, 8.0 for sound, 7.0 for gameplay, 6.0 for lasting appeal, and an overall score of 6.5 out of 10.The Sports Gaming Network reviewed the game in 1999, rating it (out of 100) the Graphics 84, Sound 58, Interface 72, Gameplay 80, Difficulty 88, and overall, 76. It claimed that the graphics were sharp and colourful, the sound being boring and 'dead', the gameplay being somehwat eclectic with future setting and weaponry and cartoon-ish graphics.
Computer & Video Games rated the Windows version in 2001, giving it an overall score of 4.9 out of 10, claiming that the weapons in the game are cool but a bit annoying.