Ace Driver

Ace Driver
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco
Composer(s) Hiroyuki Kawada
Platform(s) Arcade
Release
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Up to 8 players simultaneously
Cabinet Upright and sitdown
Arcade system Namco System 22
CPU 1x Motorola 68020 @ 24.576 MHz,
2x Texas Instruments TMS32025 @ 49.152 MHz
Sound 1x C352 @ 16.384 MHz
Display Horizontal orientation, Raster, 640 x 480 resolution, 32768 colors

Ace Driver (エースドライバー, Ēsu Doraibā) is a 3D racing arcade game released by Namco in 1994 for the company's System 22 hardware. In Ace Driver, players race in their Formula One-styled cars on various circuits. Ace Driver was followed by two sequels: Ace Driver: Victory Lap (1995) and Ace Driver 3: Final Turn (2008), each based closely on the original game.

Gameplay

The starting line of the game's race.

At the start of the game, players can choose between Automatic or Manual Transmission (the former eliminates the need of the gear shift) and Beginner, Expert, or Expert Pro Race Class; in a multiplayer game, Expert Pro Race Class can only be played after all players select it. The cars are Team Red Lightning (cars 25 and 26), Scuderia Blue Castle (cars 3 and 4), Yellow Cyclone Racing (cars 17 and 18), and Green Island Motor Sports (cars 11 and 12) - and all eight of the cars carry advertisements for older Namco games, in a style similar to the Ridge Racer series.

Reception and criticism

Ace Driver received the award for the Best Coin-Operated Game of the 76th Annual IAAPA Show; it made extensive use of the CPU assist technique whereby a trailing player would be given a significant speed boost to allow them to catch up to the leading player. However, the speed boost continued for a short while after the losing player had overtaken the leader - leading to a tactic known as boosting, where a player would deliberately allow themselves to lose the lead, then during the last half of the last game lap would easily take back the lead with no hope of the other player catching up with them. Boosting also meant that straight skill races were difficult to have in the game given that the CPU assist would be continually changing the losing players' speed and position.

Next Generation reviewed the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "It may not be the best all-around racing title out today, but for competitive multi-player action, Ace Driver holds the title."[1]

Sequels

Ace Driver: Victory Lap

Ace Driver: Victory Lap
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco
Platform(s) Arcade
Release
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Up to 8 players simultaneously
Cabinet Upright and sitdown
Arcade system Namco System 22[2]
CPU 1x Motorola 68020 @ 24.576 MHz,
2x Texas Instruments TMS32025 @ 49.152 MHz
Sound 1x C352 @ 16.384 MHz
Display Horizontal orientation, Raster, 640 x 480 resolution, 32768 colors

Ace Driver: Victory Lap (エースドライバー・ビクトリーラップ, Ēsu Doraibā - Bikutorī Rappu) is a 3D racing arcade game released by Namco in 1995, featuring more tracks and Formula One cars (which all, again, carry advertisements for older Namco games) than its predecessor, as well as a new championship mode,[2] all in a modern futuristic setting.

Ace Driver 3: Final Turn

Ace Driver 3: Final Turn
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco
Platform(s) Arcade
Release
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Up to 8 players simultaneously
Cabinet Sitdown
Arcade system System N2
CPU Motorola 68020 Edit this on Wikidata

Ace Driver 3: Final Turn (エースドライバー3・ファイナルターン, Ēsu Doraibā Surī - Fainaru Tān) is a 3D racing arcade game released by Namco in 2008; it is an official sequel to the past two games and is also a modern revival of the original Ace Driver title. The game uses mechanics borrowed from Ridge Racer 7 to ensure the cars can drift at very high speeds - and, much like its two precursors, it also contains a large amount of references to past Namco games (such as Taiko no Tatsujin, Tekken 6, and the aforementioned Ridge Racer 7).

References

  1. ↑ "Finals". Next Generation. No. 1. Imagine Media. January 1995. p. 104.
  2. 1 2 "Model 3: Sega Affirms Arcade Supremacy". Next Generation. No. 17. Imagine Media. May 1996. p. 16.
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