''Lamborghini American Challenge'' (previously released as ''Crazy Cars III'') is a 1994
racing video 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 rac ...
developed and published by
for the
Super NES
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...
,
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 ...
,
Amiga CD32
The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32, code-named "Spellbound") is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Commodore and released in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London on July 16, ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
, and
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
.
The game is essentially an upgrade from Titus's previous entry in the ''Crazy Cars'' franchise, ''Crazy Cars III''.
[ It adds a two player mode, a few more options, and a ]jazz fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
soundtrack. It also changes the scoring system and gives the player a possibility to save progress every 5 races (instead after Division Challenge only). The night goggles item is no longer available for purchase (except in the SNES version) and the car no longer bounces to the top of the screen after driving through slopes at high speeds. In Amiga version introduction was cut out and MS-DOS version does not support EGA anymore.
Gameplay
The objective of this game is to end up the undisputed champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...
of highly illegal street racing throughout the entire United States. To do so, the player must race against a group of computer-controlled opponents in a variety of illegal races across the country. The races are divided into three leagues, each one with increasingly harder opponents, and the player needs to regularly upgrade their Lamborghini Diablo
The Lamborghini Diablo is a high-performance mid-engine sports car built by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini between 1990 and 2001. It is the first production Lamborghini capable of attaining a top speed in excess of . After the end ...
in order to keep them above the other racers, by using the American currency
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
from bets as well as the bonuses earned by succeeding in the races in first place.
Scenarios
The races themselves take place in a variety of scenarios (mountain roads, the desert, urban settings) and they include weather conditions such as rain and snow. At the end of each league, and in order to be able to join the next one, the player has to go through a "challenge", consisting of a timed race in a highway infested with trucks.
Reception
Tony Dillon of ''CU Amiga
''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...
'' gave the Amiga version an 88 percent rating. He called the game not smooth as '' Lotus'', fast as '' F1'' or playable as ''Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
'', but still as competent title. ''Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' gave the game three stars out of five.
The game sold more than 290,000 units.
Peripherals
The Super NES version supports the Super NES Mouse
The Super NES Mouse, sold as the in Japan, is a peripheral created by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released on July 14, 1992, in Japan, in August 1992 in North America, and on December 10, 1992, in Europe. O ...
and Super Scope
The Super Scope, known as the Nintendo Scope in Europe and Australia, is a first party light gun peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The successor to the NES Zapper, the Super Scope was released in North America and the P ...
. When the game is played with either accessory, the player can access a different game mode in which it is possible to destroy the opponent by shooting them (the original bet mode is not present). The infamous saving system from computer versions is also substituted by a password system.
See also
*''Automobili Lamborghini (video game)
''Automobili Lamborghini'' is a 1997 racing video game developed and published by Titus Software for the Nintendo 64. It is a successor to ''Lamborghini American Challenge''.
In 1998, an improved version subtitled was released in Japan only. Thi ...
''
Notes
References
External links
''Lamborghini: American Challenge''
at MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
''Lamborghini: American Challenge''
at GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...
SNES Soundtrack information
at SNESmusic.org
{{Lamborghini, state=collapsed
1994 video games
Atari ST games
Amiga CD32 games
Commodore 64 games
DOS games
Game Boy games
Lamborghini video games
Racing video games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Titus Software games
Video games developed in France
Video games set in the United States