''Top Gear Overdrive'' is a

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 rac ...

released in 1998 for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...

and the sequel to ''

Top Gear Rally ''Top Gear Rally'' is a 1997 racing video game developed by Boss Game Studios and released for the Nintendo 64. A follow-up to Kemcos original ''Top Gear (video game), Top Gear'' game, it features a championship mode where a Single-player video ...

''. The game has support for high-resolution graphics if used with the Expansion Pak and features music from the band Grindstone.

Gameplay

In the main mode of play, the player races through six seasons, each season containing more races from more tracks, with faster cars competing. At the beginning of the race the player starts at the back of the grid at the start line. Computer players at the front of the grid often start one-third of the way around the first lap. Players start with three charges of

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a ...

, which are used to give the player a temporary speed boost. While racing, the player can pick up two power-ups: nitrous oxide and cash. The nitrous oxide can be used straight away, while the cash is added to the winnings at the end of the race and used for buying upgrades to the player's car. Shortcuts are available on each track, and often the use of these decide the outcome of the races, particularly in later seasons. At the end of each race the player is presented with a screen to allow for various upgrades to their car, such as to acceleration and handling. The player is also able to change their car for a better (or worse) vehicle and can buy extra nitrous oxide to use in the next race. At the end of the season, if the player places fourth or better in all of that season's tracks, they are allowed to progress to the next season.

Tracks

In later seasons all of the above tracks, with the exception of "Space Truckin", are available mirrored and/or with a variety of weather conditions, such as snowing, thunder, and night time. As the player unlocks additional tracks, they will become available in all of the other game modes, except for "Space Truckin", which can only be played in the main championship mode.

Soundtrack

The majority of the music tracks were written and performed by Grindstone.

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

References

External links

* {{Top Gear series 1998 video games Kemco games Nintendo 64 games Nintendo 64-only games Snowblind Studios games Top Gear (video game series) Video games developed in the United States Multiplayer and single-player video games