This game surprised me in a good way and a bad way at the same time. It could have been great. What a missed opportunity.
Anyone who grew up with PC games in the ’80s or ’90s will probably remember the Screamer series. They were fast, fun arcade racers. Screamer 4×4 is a follow-up, but instead of high-speed cars, you get off-road 4×4 vehicles and some genuinely impressive 3DFX Glide graphics.
Let’s start with the good. The graphics are excellent. On a Pentium III with a Voodoo3, the game runs perfectly. No hiccups, no stuttering, nothing. The audio is good too. Driving the vehicles is surprisingly fun. It’s basic, sure, but having both low and high gear actually adds something, and switching between them depending on the terrain feels pretty satisfying. Honestly, the driving model is great, and that’s rare for games from this era, where everything tended to handle like a hovercraft.
Now… the bad side: the track design. And I know people will have different opinions about this. I understand what they were trying to do, but I still strongly disagree with the design choice. When you start a race, there’s no clear indication of where you’re supposed to go. Eventually you spot two tiny poles (something like a “gate”) and realise those are the checkpoints. You think, “Okay, got it, I’ll just look for these.” But nope. It’s not that simple.
After a few checkpoints, you’re suddenly in the middle of nowhere with no idea whether the next gate is left or right. You pick a direction, drive for a bit, and eventually realise you’re completely lost and going the wrong way.
I suspect they designed the game like this because they wanted a simulation feel. No floating arrows, no big glowing markers, none of that. They did add a co-pilot voice, but all he ever says is “Oh, this is a difficult one!” Mate… I don’t even know where I’m heading. I don’t care how “difficult” it is, just tell me where the next checkpoint is. They really should’ve added something (anything!) to help with navigation.
Overall, Screamer 4×4 is a good game. If you play the same tracks long enough to memorize them, it becomes genuinely fun. I think I’ll come back to this one later and give it more time.
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Hardware:
Compaq Garcia
Intel Pentium III 1133S Tualatin
256MB SDRAM
3DFX Voodoo 3 3000
Creative Sound Live!
10GB HDD (IDE)
