"Ivan ""Iron Man"" Stewarts Super Off-Road"
Reviewed by Christian Assaad
I am a fan of the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (Nascar) and love
anything racing related, so keep that in mind while you read my review. In my
opinion this is ultimately one of the best racing games ever created for the NES.
Although this game doesn't correspond with the realism of such racing organizations
as NASCAR, INDY CAR, or any other modern racing organization, it's still fun to play.
Graphics 7 out of 10
Even though the graphics absolutely cannot compare to the modern day standards
of video game graphics, for the technology available within the time the game
was created it was good back then. Some of the text in the sign advertisements
on the track are indistinguishable. Although it it's not that important I think
this is an important element in the game for added realism. The color pallete
in the game is the average of all NES games. I think the shading of the dirt mounds
on the track could be greatly improved. It's ugly and sometimes confuses the average
player while driving over the mounds.
Music and Sound 4 out of 10
The music in the game is good, but in my opinion the light rock music instrumental
in the non-racing screens should be switched with the "generic" race music in the
racing screens the rock music is more characteristic of truck racing. Trust me on
this one. I think the sound effects are terrible, but the gameplay compensates for
this. The screeching sound of the tires in the turns sounds like a constipated seal
moaning (I had to fulfill my personal humor requirement for this review). And the
screeching sounds are barely audible your opponents' engines are muted for some
very strange reason. Many of the other sound effects aren't even in the game. You
can't hear the crunching sounds of cars hitting the wall, or the noise of the nitros
being used just to name a few.
Game Challenge 4 out of 10
After playing the game for about 5 minutes or more (I play a lot of these racing
games so I probably took less time), you can restart the game and beat it in less
than half-an-hour. Once you get the drift of how to win, you do win.
Game Play-Fun 9 out of 10
I think this is a fun game mostly because of the monetary system used within
the game, the payouts, and how your purchases modify your car's performance
with a good dollar to improvement ratio. The actual racing part of the game is
in my opinion the greatest ever for the NES.
Frustration
The only frustration is the first time you play and working the controller
while racing. Eventually there is virtually no frustration.
Replayability 4 out of 10
This game has a mediocre replay-value. Yeah, you play once every couple of months
but the game is fun every time you play it there is no immediate replay.
Game Value 9 out of 10
If you can find it cheap it's worth the price. Many Nintendo games are like this now.
At my local used video game retailer, used NES games can go as low in price as $2.00!
Overall 6 out of 10
It's fun if you can have the satisfaction of saving so much money while enjoying
the game even though most people wouldn't play the game more than a half-an-hour
every couple of months.