Plane Crazy

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Review: Plane Crazy

Plane Crazy has a lot going for it, especially its impressive Direct3D visuals. Since the game's main purpose is to bring the visually stunning arcade-racing experience home to the PC, it's competing with car racers like the gorgeous Sega Super GT, and it does so with remarkable aplomb. This great-looking game is made even more visually engaging by totally outrageous, sadistically tight, often surreal tracks. Fly through the heart of a volcano into a jungle and through Mayan ruins, avoid skyscrapers at breakneck speeds in Sin City, zip through an overwrought Grand Canyon-ish ravine. No arcade racer has ever had tracks quite like this.

There are five main competition courses. These tracks are huge and chock full of hidden side passages and short cuts, making them a hoot to just explore. There are three training arenas to help new pilots get the feel of the three customizable planes and a final special track, which becomes accessible when you complete the tournament mode.

Or rather, if you complete the tournament mode. Plane Crazy is hard, and several factors add unnecessary difficulty, starting with the controls. The only controller that proved playable was the SideWinder Game Pad. Neither the FreeStyle Pro nor the SideWinder Force stick provided anything close to acceptable handling, which SegaSoft says it will address with an upcoming patch.

Even when you find a decently responsive peripheral, it takes a lot of practice to get used to the rather imprecise control. The lack of a rolling maneuver is regrettable; you have to fly nose to the ground to gain speed, making it even more challenging to avoid the innumerable course obstacles; and it's very annoying to pick up speeds at higher elevations, since the engine's idea of ground level is always the same, whether or not the actual ground below you is inclining.

Two more problems have to do with a lack of proper options in the single-player game. You should be able to turn off the checkpoint-based time limit-a pointless holdover from coin-op racers-and the power-up weapons. You can collect power-ups on the courses, including nitros for speed-boosts, but most of them are missiles meant to slow down opponents, and the ability to fly without them would've been appreciated.

Internet play is remarkably good. The computer makes exceptionally smooth predictions about the various fliers and can handle up to eight at a time. LAN, TCP/IP, and HEAT (www.heat.net) are supported, providing a big draw for the game. Sound effects are excellent, too, and the tunes that accompany each track help give them all a unique flavor.

If Plane Crazy gets patched to include more acceptable handling for other controllers and address those two missing key options, it will become noticeably more enjoyable and accessible. But even with its flaws, there's something about the game's lush graphics, breakneck speed, and awesome tracks that grab you. Plane Crazy is almost, but not quite, one of the best arcade racers on the market.-- Jason D'Aprile / GamePro