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SUPER HANG-ON! Weird name, weird game? Nope, unlike 78% of all other Amiga titles, this is one piece o' software that refuses to be as bizarre as its name. But hey, that ain't a bad thing by any stretch!
NEEEEEOOOOWWWWWWWWM.
Super Hang-On, or SHO as it will be known from here on in, is a quintessential motorbiking sim which is as arcadey as it could possibly try to be - essentially, it's a question of motoring your way to the finish, but it's not about where you finish, it's about HOW you finish. As is the benchmark for what must be 95% of arcade racers, the aim of the game is to finish as quickly as possible, getting through checkpoints on time and avoiding the death knell that is the inimitable 'GAME OVER' splash. It's all about beating high scores and times, and that's really about it.
A big draw in the arcades for its day and a SUPERB Megadrive/Genesis racer, this Amiga port is a completely different kettle of fish to its Sega cousin in complexity - there's different, more arcade-style modes, less music and the stages are all different in the Miggy version - the biggest element to be missing comparatively is the career-mode that made the Sega port so addictive, but put these transgressions aside and beyond the written word SHO Amiga is still as fun to pick up and play as its big, flashy relative. But how?
You aren't essentially racing against these fellers, more trying in earnest to stay the hell out of their way as they choose to PARK ON A BEND.
Firstly, the controls help. I was in sheer disbelief at how easy it is to control your bike with the mouse (I'm normally snobbish enough to never stray from a Zipstick) - in fact, it's one of very few games where I can safely say that playing using the clicky bugger isn't a complete chore, nor is it a bore to behold. It's literally a case of click to accelerate, release to ease off - and carefully navigate with slight of hand. It isn't even an awkward technique to grow after several plays - it's genuinely pretty damn smooth. The keyboard technique, however, leads a sodload to be desired and should be avoided like a mound of faeces in the middle of the street.
Second, it's such a bloody simple game that there's little to no tedium in getting on and getting involved in the gameplay. The loading times are absurdly quick, and whilst the 'easy' stage (based in Africa) is hardly a cakewalk nor a goff in the spittoon - every time you play, it feels like you improve ever so slightly, no matter how crap you've been the play before. Whilst this user-friendly feel it purveys is somewhat difficult to summarise, it's pretty plain to experience. It feels like you've played it before, and it's not tedious for a minute.
It's such a basic game, even captions are hard to come by. Seriously. Think of one for yourselves while I bleed the lizard, eh?
I think it's the simplicity and lack of pretentiousness that made SHO such a smash at the arcades and indeed in the home - it's not a brain-bender by any stretch of the imagination, and the presentation I doubt was even cutting edge for its day - but it is, essentially, a damn fine game with no scruples or frills to entice you otherwise (coughRISEOFTHEROBOTScough). The only caveat in the wheels of this freight-train is the replay value for more hardcore gamers, and the variety in gameplay - whilst I find the one single-player mode addictive as hell, anyone likely to be frustrated at, say, missing a line in Tetris, or forgetting to throw their copy of 'Pinkie' in the refuse after playing it are likely to find this more than a little overdone.
It is, ultimately, the one basic principle of 'drive about until you reach the finish or run out of time' - and I know people who'd be annoyed at this premise. The sort of player who looks for a time-attack mode, secret characters and a soundtrack-jukebox in the options menu. If this is you, give it a go anyway. You might find you surprise yourself. Otherwise, I'd avoid it like... oh, I've already done that one. Moving on.
Hell, it's even a contender for best title display. CHECK DAT FONT!
Inevitably, SHO will be compared to its fatter, later second-cousin-once-removed, the mighty Road Rash. However, beyond them both being the archetypal bike sims available for the Miggy, these are two extremely different fruit. If you like high scores and short blasts of gaming here and there, play SHO. If you're the type who likes to play a game through, and puts more pressure on a game's completion rather than trying to constantly better yourself, Road Rash's more your pick. SHO remains an insanely playable, though limited, yet cutely simple sim that really won't eat much out of your day to play out. Give it a shot.
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Not brilliant by most standards, but colourful enough and you can tell what it is you're doing, and what the hell it is you're controlling. A palette of about 10 colours were used, but MY GOD HAVEN'T THEY BEEN USED!
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The tunes are very nice and bouncy, and you get to pick your soundtrack! How's THAT for interactivity? The SFX are nothing out-of-the-way, but that's how they should be. Hearing your driver curse his head off after going arse over tip on a steep curve isn't really what we're looking for here.
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Very easy to get into, very hard to get out of. Nice and smooth, flatters to deceive that there's more of it than there actually is, but what's there is palatable enough for any score-chaser. Some of the curves are a bit awkward, but that's just me being horrendous at it.
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| Nice, simple... nice and simple. That's all there is to it. Saying any more about it would be doing it an ironic injustice. You like racing. Play it. |
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