Lamborghini American Challenge Review

For whatever reason, the arcade feel of Lamborghini reminded me of the Saturn’s Daytona USA. Being that the game felt a bit dated, I figured this was an arcade port, like Daytona was on the Saturn (and it was also dated when it was released). I came to find out that this was indeed developed specifically for the SNES.

Lamborghini isn’t a standard racer by any stretch. First, you’re breaking the law by driving on public roads. Second, you’re breaking the law even more and asking to die by driving at speeds passing 200 MPH with what are probably nitro boosts. Third, the graphics in this game are horrible by even the lowest standards of the 1990’s.

The game is run down like this. You access races on a map of the United States. 15 stars highlight the 15 cities that you can race in. A yellow star indicates a race that you can access, because you have enough money to enter the race. A red star indicates that you are short on funds.

Once you enter a race, a screen will appear asking you to bet. If you feel you can beat the racers, place a bet. It goes around the screen, and if you don’t beat a bet, it will eventually end without you dishing out much dough. In fact, you don’t have to bet a dime. You’ll win more money this way though. Even as lousy as the computer is, they’ll raise your bets. The cash prize awarded at the end is much greater because of this.

Cash is used to enter races and repair damages caused throughout the races. Damage is incurred when hitting other cars, posts, etc. Speaking of cars, there are civilian vehicles on the streets, along with your opponents’. Opponents’ cars are all red, while civilians’ cars are colored anything other than red.

For those worried that the single-player won’t be enough, there’s a split-screen mode. There are no saves, but instead a password system was implemented. I’ve never liked password systems, and I never wrote them down, so I usually avoid games that have them altogether.

Here’s the problem that I have with Lamborghini. You’re traveling down a straight road, with some curves here and there, maybe a tunnel, and lights on the side of the road. You’ll have some cones lined up every few miles, slow cars traveling, etc. However, everything else seems like barren wasteland. Boston, for instance, looks like a desert town. I thought I was playing in Nevada. Then you’ll have the moving background, which makes a place like Chicago look like it has 50 different downtowns. Titus must have downplayed how annoying this was, because for me, these races lose entertainment value, just because of this.

Lamborghini’s age is more than apparent. Then again, its age might be its strength. Had this been released any later than when it was, I’d be bashing the hell out of it. As it stands, this isn’t a bad game, if you play through it in a single night. If you have a notepad handy, write down the passwords, but none of the courses are special. If you find this in your friend’s attic, bring it out for the weekend, then donate it to Goodwill.