''Powerdrome'' is a 1988 futuristic

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 ...

by Michael Powell released on the Atari ST and published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

. Players race jet-engined, anti-gravity bikes called ''blades'' around closed tracks. Ports for Amiga 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 ...

were released in 1989 and 1990 respectively. A remake was released in 2004.

Gameplay

The game includes six tracks, set across five planets. The road-equivalent turning method of yaw is not present, meaning a right turn is achieved by rolling to the right and pitching up. Control is very sensitive but allows use of the mouse for greater accuracy. Gameplay is complicated by the need to equip gas filters to cope with each planet's atmosphere and weather, with further choices to be made over types of fuel. Control was improved for the Amiga release in 1989 and an extra track made available. A version on the PC in 1990 was soon followed by a re-release on all formats.

Reception

Released as a budget game, ''Powerdrome'' received good reviews, with a few remembering the original and its influence on the futuristic racing genre. All were impressed with the smooth sensation of speed and detailed environments, although the music was considered lackluster and the pilots' voices annoying.

Reviews

*'' Jeux & Stratégie'' #55

Remake

A remake known as ''Powerdrome'' (or ''Power Drome'') was released for the PlayStation 2 and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

in June 2004. A Microsoft Windows version was released in August 2005 only in Europe. It was developed by Argonaut Sheffield, for whom Powell was studio head.

Mud Duck Productions ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland, and founded in 1999. The company owns publisher Bethesda Softworks with its development unit Bethesda Game Studios (developer of ''The Elder Scrolls, ...

published the game in North America, Evolved Games in Europe and the PC version was published by

Zoo Digital Publishing Zushi Games was a British video game publisher. Based in Sheffield, Zushi is the owner of the multi-million-selling Premier Manager (series), ''Premier Manager'' series and best known for Alien Hominid. Zushi published titles for the Nintendo ...

. Venues for racing still only number six, but reverse and mirrored courses bring the total of unique routes to 24. The previous version's customisation was completely dropped in favour of a focus on racing skill.Team Xbox
"The biggest drawback ... is the complete lack of customizing in the game."

References

External links

* *{{MobyGames, id=/power-drome, name=''Power Drome'' (2004) 1988 video games 2004 video games Amiga games Argonaut Games games Atari ST games DOS games Electronic Arts games Science fiction racing games PlayStation 2 games Racing video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Christopher Mann Windows games Xbox games Multiplayer and single-player video games