''Hot Rod'' is a

top-down Top-down may refer to: Arts and entertainment * " Top Down", a 2007 song by Swizz Beatz * "Top Down", a song by Lil Yachty from ''Lil Boat 3'' * "Top Down", a song by Fifth Harmony from ''Reflection'' Science * Top-down reading, is a part of ...

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic ra ...

developed by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

. Released for arcades in 1988 in Japan and released worldwide in 1989, the game was available in a four-player cocktail-style arcade cabinet, as well as a three-player upright cabinet. Home computer ports were published by

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in 1990 for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

, and

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

Gameplay

The main goal of the game is to race against up to 4 players on a variety of tracks. Whenever a player falls off screen, gas is subtracted from their gas meter. When a player's gas meter reaches zero, their game is over. A player can pick up flashing targets symbolized with letter "G" to add 10 units of gas to the player's gas meter. If a player successfully crosses the finish line, they are rewarded additional units of gas. After every race, players go to the Parts Shop to purchase upgrades for their car. These include: three front or rear engines, three types of bumpers, three types of spoilers, and two types of tires. There are additional types of tires including radial tires, speed tires, spike tires, and snow tires. The player may equip either a front or rear engine, but not both at once. Players may not equip a spoiler and a rear engine simultaneously. There are 30 different races across 10 environments including: busy highways, dirt roads, a beach side, a mountain, farmlands, a snowy terrain, a desert, a construction zone, a shipyard, and city streets. There are 3 races per environment, with every third race taking the players to a stadium for a victory ceremony. Afterwards, the players find themselves in a new environment.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Hot Rod'' on their June 1, 1988 issue as being the fourth most-successful upright/cockpit arcade unit of the month.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hot Rod (Video Game) 1988 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Sega arcade games Top-down racing video games ZX Spectrum games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Hiroshi Kawaguchi Video games scored by Jeroen Tel