Highway Patrol 2 logo

INFOGRAMES £19.99 * Joystick

Criminals are tough to catch in a high-speed car, even through the leagy lanes of sleepy England, just imagine the work the Americans have to do in deserted places like Arizona where the roads are long and straight and go on for ever. Reckon you could fare better than the average cop? Well, now is your chance to find out.

Highway Patrol II (Who knows what happened to HP I?) plonks you firmly in the open spaces of one such American state. Your desk is full of "Wanted" sheets, so select who you would like to go after and jump in your car.

At the top of the screen the map coordinates of the crims and yourself are displayed. Drive as fast as you can towards the criminals, remembering to fill up with petrol if necessary along the way, and once you have caught up with them convince them to pull over so you can book them.

It looks fine but most of the time it is just a case of steering left-right, which becomes very boring after a while. Far too little to do to keep you very interested.



Highway Patrol 2 logo

Die Flut von Autorennspielen für den Amiga will einfach nicht verebben, obwohl es die Dinger nun wirklich schon wie Sand am Meer gibt. Den neuesten Schlag in die alte Kerbe haut das französische Softwarehaus Microids.

Die Grundidee erinnert fatal an Oceans "Chase HQ": Aus einem Karteikasten wird ein Verbrecher ausgesucht, den es dann zu jagen und stellen gilt. Damit man den bösen Jungen auch findet, sind am oberen Screenrand die Koordinaten seines Fahrzeugs (und die des eigenen) angegeben.

Mit Hilfe der beiliegenden Karte stöbert man ihn auf und verdient sich so (hoffentlich!) seine erste Fangprämie.

Highway Patrol ist beileibe kein Raserspiel, wie etwa "Outrun", es erinnert (vor allem grafisch) viel eher an "Test Drive 2".

Die führt durch ein Wüste mit Kakteen und Büschen, es gibt auch auffällig viele Tankstellen. Neu an diesem Verfolgungsrennen sind vor allem die zahlreichen Abzweigungen und Kreuzungen, die aber nicht gerade zur Übersichtlichkeit beitragen.

Das Auto wird (mehr schlecht als recht) mit dem Joystick gesteuert, die Lenkung verhält sich bei allen Geschwindigkeiten nahezu gleich, und so was wie eine Schaltung hat der Schlitten auch nicht.

Lustigerweise muß man nicht unbedingt auf der Straße bleiben, sondern kann auch Abkürzungen durch den Wüstensand nehmen - Rückwärtsfahren geht übrigens auch!

Die Grafik ist hübsch, besonders das Auto-Sprite ist eine Wucht. Leider gibt's nur immer wieder dasselbe zu sehen, außerdem ruckelt das Scrolling fürchterlich!

Da auch der Sound nicht über den Durchschnitt herauskommt, kann Highway Patrol II höchstens eingefleischten Autonarren empfohlen werden - und auch das nur sehr bedingt. (mm)



Highway Patrol 2 logo

Infogrames
Price: £24.99

No, nothing to do with the original Highway Patrol from Vortex, but a whole new breed of Highway Patrol. Can there be any job as physically and mentally demanding as a highway cop? Driving for hours at speed with only the law and a powerful handgun for protection, your only reward is large sums of money for every criminal you catch.

You are a rookie cop trying for promotion and eagerly awaiting all the perks that come with it. To gain it you have to stick to the rules and get the job done correctly. Blazing across open country and opening fire on any car that gets in your way is just one way of not doing the job correctly.

Of course, before you can stop the enemy car in true chase style by overtaking it and skidding to a halt to block the road, you have to find it, and that is no mean feat in itself.

The map of the landscape is huge, and full of lots of little interconnected roads, so constant monitoring of the supplied map is a necessity. Not only do you have to keep track of where you are, you also have to keep an eye out for where the opposing car is, and try and work out some feasible way of getting to it. All this while driving. It is tough.

The still graphics are very impressive, the lovely graduated horizon gives a wonderful feeling of distance, and the other cars are large and detailed. The only real problems set in when the things start moving. The update is appalling, and that is only on the roadway. The update of the other cars is even worse. There cannot be any more than six frames from horizon to near distance, and when the cars turn, I am sadly reminded of the ill-fated Crazy Cars.

The sound, on the other hand, is pretty good. The tune that intros the game is a bit weak, but the in-game FX are great. Hear those sirens whine, and the sound of your bullets striking opposing cars and cacti alike.

It does provide some fun, though I find the overcomplicated map system a little off putting at times. Worth a blast, but with smoother scrolling and perhaps an in-game map it would be worth buying.