Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing was deveoped by Criterion Games and published by UbiSoft on November 10th 1999. While not as accomplished as UbiSoft's other racer (Speed Devils), it was a decent enough racing game, this time focusing on motorbikes (specifically the Suzuki GSX-R750 & GSX-R600) rather than cars.
The game aped Sega Rally in that you got access to additional circuits by beating sets of races, (3 at a time), with the aim of acquiring the most points at the finish line of race three. Visually it was nice enough, although some lighting effects were shabby, but happily the pop up was gripped enough so that it was hardly noticable.
The bikes handling was slightly less satisfying, and on certain tracks felt quite jittery. Certainly not every track but enough to knock it back behind its stablemate, Speed Devils. Also the bikes physics felt decidedly bouncy, as many times I would be tearing along the beach (yes, these bikes coped with sand as if it were tarmac) when suddenly upon colliding with a rock, my ride and I (of which I was seemingly glued to) would be catapulted in the air like gravity was something which only happened to other things.
All in all Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing was a good title but it suffered from the lack of polish that other, more competent racers possessed. I actually enjoy it for a quick way to spend ten minutes but it never gets more milage than that im afraid.
On 9th September 1999, Sega released a new console to an excited public, the now legendary Dreamcast. Many would argue the first in Next Gen visuals, and online gaming, the Dreamcast was overtaken by Playstation2 but never forgotten. To this day, a decade on, it is still a powerful force in the gaming world. This is my tribute to the console and games, where a poet becomes fanboy.
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