LGR - Car and Driver - DOS PC Game Review

An oft-forgotten classic by the guys who went on to make the Descent games, this is not only one of the few magazine-inspired games but one of the most unique racers of its day. Not many driving games provide a parking lot as a selectable track!

[@truebassB]

This game is actually amazing for its time. Imagine being in the early 90's,coming back from school and relaxing playing this.

[@Sam-lr9oi]

Just casually throwing in "MDMA on wheels" was absolutely great.

[@jakejerald]

1. Select the Mercedes w/ Automatic Transmission 2. Select the Highway Track with the roadside houses 3. Slowly approach the roadside house until you make contact 4. Full throttle directly into the house - car will slowly climb wall while breaking traction 5. Once vertical on the wall with full throttle, the Mercedes will gain traction and launch vertically several hundred feet.

[@JacksonJacoy]

really, cool

[@LyingSecret]

Ha I'd love to see a video of that.

[@AnimalMother1976]

+LyingSecret I played this game on a Gateway 2000 486sx 33mhz Intel with 4MB of RAM and a 170MB Hard Drive. I think I was 14 or 15 - I had hours upon hours into this game. I can't remember if they launch off the 5 mile oval banks but if you get the Mercedes, 959, or F40 up to top speed and go hard right up the bank it will send the car into the air for 5-6 seconds - I'm surprised this reviewer missed that bit of the game too.

[@TobyCowles]

Jake Jerald he really needs to update this with those bugs

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

​@@AnimalMother1976 In "Stunts" you often shoot vertically into air too by a crash. I thought it was no bug but a patent avoiding trick because the "instant replay" in "Hard Drivin" (directly following any crash) was patented by Atari. But the latter bounces the car into air in some situations too.

[@biboKralle]

DAMN, I love this channel!! Don't you never, EVER stop!!

[@LGR]

biboKralle Doing my best not to stop!!

[@jhhwild]

This is pretty nostalgic for me. I would play this game for hours. I loved the freedom, you could just drive around aimlessly and explore and I loved that. I also liked the car accidents and the replays. My brother and I would go around trying to break the game and there were some places where you could go up a part of the oval track and go flying really high. I would also try to drive normally and look like a normal driver, lol. It was fun.

[@AnimalMother1976]

The Mercedes off the banks of the 5 Mile Oval Test Track, yes those were the days

[@jhhwild]

Jake Jerald I would love watching the replays after making the car glitch out by doing that.

[@jedi_chrome]

When I was a kid I'd play this and practice parking in the parking lot map. I think it legit had a positive impact and made me more confident when I finally got behind the wheel of a real car. Glad I found this video as I was sure it was Car and Driver but a friend kept telling me I was wrong and it was Test Drive or Stunts.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

In "Race Drivin" (arcade version on MAME) I occasionally try to park the car between the 2 others at Sam's Diner on the Super Stunt Track. I guess some geeks can park with a drift slide trick or such. In "Car and Driver" the parking lot feels pointless, because most cars and buildings lack collision detection, so you can simply drive through them without notice.

[@BRE3ZYE]

"MDMA on wheels!"

[@Alex-je6od]

4:37 , dat subgenius bob

[@aermacchi1]

Can't believe I just recently found your content.. I really enjoy the stuff you put up, thanks a lot!

[@TheMathius78]

I most definitely did, "Make my own fun" with this game bitd. Thanks for all your hard work with the channel, Clint. One of only three channels I watch anymore.

[@crowsfan691]

This game was revolutionary for its time. Gauges that actually work, different engine sounds for each car and those action replays. That parking lot was pretty cool too lol.

[@falkerhard]

Well Microids - highway patrol 2 also had gauges that worked. Terrible game it was though.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

The parking lots lacks collision detection, which makes it pointless. I am playing on actual Win98SE hardware (AMD K6-3+@550MHz,GeForce 3,SB AWE64) so it can't be an emulation issue. This looks and plays like unfinished alpha software.

[@fhistleb]

My dad and I used to play the hell out of this game.

[@funkymunkyzap]

You are hilarious. Every time I watch one of your videos, I find myself just wishing you and I could sit down and play all the way through Zeliard cracking wise. Best old game review channel ever, don't change please.

[@dtbjason]

This is nuts, first of all I saw the radio menu had WEFT 90.1 at 3:19 its a local college station for me out of Champaign, IL (just coincidence right) but... it gave me memories of "Hour Of Slack" a syndicated program that was on thursdays at 11:00pm and there fictional spokeperson was "BOB DOBBS" the face at 4:48 - its a SubGenious thing. the show was out of Texas and syndicated all over but WOW! LOL! anybody else catch this?! I would say these developers were subgenious types :0

[@marianpesce3468]

When you are a little kid =D this game is awesome. Im still playing this and Stunts.

[@klaymonkey9073]

Who here remembers gaming mag cheat sections? I do - there was something extra flash about that age of gaming news and promotion; very little internet convenience, but plenty of exclusivity & bragging rights if you were prepared to fork out some milk money. The promotional demo discs alone made it worth your while.

[@andreicrisan5526]

Man I have such fond memories of this game, I used to play it over and over as a kid. I remember jamming the forward key on my keyboard trying to drive to the hills in the background on the Arkansas track, which obviously you can't get to because they're part of the skybox - but that didn't stop me from spending 3 hours just driving in a straight line! Llittle kid logic!

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

Same with approaching the mountains in Atari "Battle Zone". There were myths about that you could drive down into the volcano and such, which is technically impossible.

[@drako1251]

Your awesome, you introduced me to DOS and awesome games for it :D so glad I subbed!

[@billyb7119]

>games linked to magazines Don't forget Soldier of Fortune!

[@InputArchive]

You do some great videos, but your review videos are just unmatchable in terms of quality. I understand they can be time consuming but I hope you consider doing more for the future, either way, I'm still gonna keep watching every video you produce. Keep up the good work!

[@Eonymia]

4:45 Wait a minute. The church of Subgenius?

[@Floconbob]

wow i never saw your channel before, but i looked for this game, to see if it was just a product of my imagination :D great video, will look at the rest now, subscribed :)

[@LGR]

As far as I know, none of the people who were involved with developing Stunts were involved with this and entirely different engines were used. This and Stunts feel very different when driving, too. Though I wouldn't be surprised if they took a few cues from Stunts and other similar 3D racers when making this :)

[@tomyyoung2624]

but YEPE!

[@jojos08]

the motion in this game looks so astonishingly smooth!

[@MegaDieseldriver]

I had so much fun with this when I was kid. Yes you had to make your own fun...however Interior view, awesome crashes interesting tracks and replay is all a young boy needed. I spent many many hours driving in that mall parking lot. :)

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

The parking lot mostly lacks collision detection, so you can drive through most cars and buildings without notice.

[@dummybas]

every time i see this game, it makes me think about my childhood...

[@tekwerk]

Dude! I didn't know that the first WipEout was on DOS until this video! God, I love Pulse and HD, never played many of the other ones though because unfortunately I never knew about the series until I tried the Pulse demo for the PSP.

[@JohnCenaVEVO]

Speaking of simulation, do you ever plan on showing off any of the Nascar racing games papyrus made? Or maybe Indianapolis 500, which for its time was really damn impressive.

[@LGR]

I certainly have plans for this.

[@JohnCenaVEVO]

Thank you, really looking forward to this... Racing simulation, especially old ones is some weird passion of mine

[@connosaurus]

JohnCenaVEVO They made a left-turn simulator?!

[@seriousbe]

As a kid, o remember have shit load of fun with that one even though there was no goal...same with Hard Drivin on Genesis

[@dancingwiththedogsdj]

I remember saving up for a Genesis ONLY for Hard Drivin' because it was my favorite arcade game and I would be saving money. Within days I was able to drive a few laps on Hard Drivin' and build up time to be able to then spend time just screwing around to get a sweet replay and a crash from the loop or my own version of Burnout before Burnout! And on Car and Driver on a PC that was like 5 fps and no options at all, but I still played it!

[@nitrorory]

I used to play this for hours. The variety of tracks and cars kept it interesting.

[@alexriesenbeck]

That Pioneer logo just set off a chain of memories I had put in the back of my brain.... HOLY WOW dude.... "the car of the future will not be the econo-box" awesome crash around 4:30 ! someonne pressed 'Detonate' prematurely. are there any eggs in the game as far as art in strange places? Awesome review, again. Great ending music, I need that track

[@colonelclaw]

Great review, and it kind of reminds me of Stunt Car Racer on the Amiga, my absolute favourite driving game of those days

[@King86832]

nerver stop your Channel lgr i remeber this game keep up The good work

[@bborgelt]

This game brings back lots of memories. Use to play it all the time with my father and see who could set the fastest time.

[@AmaroqStarwind]

I searched WipEout on your channel. This video came up, and there it is on your shelf. Do you re-arrange your shelf for every video? I swear, you need to actually review the MechWarrior series and WipEout series.

[@swampjajc]

I remember this was the first game I ever had that ran in SVGA back in the day it was totally amazing! On link my friends and I used to play teh car park level for hours!

[@AbdulManan-ty5lx]

First time I played this game when o was in grade 1, way back in 2004.

[@oneannoyingwhiteguy]

I like your Reviews.

[@Dvlx1]

I've just had an absolute flashback of playing this game back in the day. Being so excited to play a game where I got to drive a car, but not being able to make any sense of the controls!

[@GameplayandTalk]

Ah, got to love those old crash simulations--lines drawn across the screen to mimic broken glass, haha. Good stuff!

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

Already Cinematronics "Speed Freak" did this on a vector monitor, as the world first arcade driving simulator featuring some actual 3D objects.

[@GameplayandTalk]

@@cyberyogicowindler2448 word.

[@andrewszombie]

I used to play this in the morning before classes in primary school in 1996/1997 ahh, memories. 😭😭 NFS & Carmageddon were the best driving games of that era but car and driver was the Original!!

[@jhhwild]

I remember playing the crap out of this game as a kid, I was impressed by the 3d graphics and I loved the open-ended nature of the game, the freedom to do whatever I wanted. I liked watching the replay too especially when the physics got all broken. I probably would have liked the other games you mentioned better if I knew they existed at the time.

[@user-fj5zt7vt9f]

I still play it. It's like a minigame now )) With such a phisics! Not many claims for that time. And not many games we still have with a mouse-controlling steer. It's realy for relax (with time chasing). Really differing cars with their own characters. Really various tracks. From drag till long-ranged highway separated by 3 parts. No tunnig. Just get and ride. But I think that the main reason of my choise was that it is my first game on PC that I had seen. It was 1996

[@brandonb1681]

I don't play many racing games, but F-Zero is my favorite.

[@istalo1]

4:34 Think about a "friendly" racing game LMAO

[@A_Player]

the gibs from the vehicles,when you crash,are like physx :O thats so awesome,it looks like physx

[@peterjamieson2441]

I remember one of the roads had an 18 wheeler that i just couldn't overtake

[@NightShader1]

That Stunts sounds comparison made me nostalgic :')

[@ncshuriken]

Car and Driver!! How could anybody possibly think of a better title for a driving game!

[@TehFailBacon]

I love your videos

[@pyametra]

I had 'Race Drivin' on SNES so this is like Gran Turismo to me.

[@__Xeese]

You deserve more subs dude.

[@evilmiera]

That tinny music at the end is awesome and so appropriate for the time. Are there any particular places to look up music sounding specifically like that?

[@BrianPicchi]

I vaguely recall seeing this game. It's got a certain charm to it, I like it. Off-topic, do you have Top Gun: Fire at Will? For some reason this game keeps popping back in my head. I remember always attacking my own carrier. "Maverick!" "Hey, just seeing if the button works."

[@emotionalcontentmediaunltd2267]

That parking lot does serve a purpose. Its the san dimas parking lot. Where a legendary pair of fellows started a magical time travel adventure. #WILDSTALLIONSRULE

[@vermin1970]

I used to play this, thought it was pretty awesome at the time. Ran it on my old 386 with a SB audio card and EGA graphics. :-)

[@naipeadicto]

dont know why, but before seeing the video it reminded me an old game called Megarace, would love to see you reviewing that game.

[@Bob_Beaky]

I know this is just another "Will you cover...?" post but here goes! Have you considered doing a retrospective on the early NFS (Distinctive/EA Canada) and Test Drive games? I know you've covered a couple of the games but a retrospective on the series with your panache would be good for the interwebs. :)

[@Arexion5293]

Oh my gawd, I remember playing this game back when I was like 5 or 6. o.o

[@zacharyk7225]

I need this in my life

[@SlavTiger]

You had me sold at the sickle and hammer

[@AllJoshua]

Another awesome video. :)

[@arcticfox04]

LGR is one of the best. Love these old school games.

[@Lethaltail]

"Yoyota" XD niiiice.

[@hudde814]

"Other times the physics model just gives up, has a seizure, punches a baby and takes a whiz on your sofa while singing Yankee Doodle Dandy" That was pretty funny ngl

[@thatDonOguy]

4:48 Praise Bob and all that obscure jazz

[@ArcadeGames]

Reminds me of Race Drivin' and Hard Drivin' arcade games. It's MDMA on wheels!

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

But this is not a finetuned marvel like the arcade version of Race Driving with its realistic physics. "Car and Driver" looks rather like a bad alpha prototype than a finished game, or something made for Atari Jaguar (a console that lacked enough RAM for 3D graphics). The ultra-lowres pixel sprites for too tiny trees and horizon are plain ridiculous (this is on PC and not Atari 2600). E.g. on the parking lot level parked cars and buildings completely lack collision detection, so you can drive right trough, which as a driving skill test makes the whole level pointless.

[@hellonpluto]

looks awesome

[@Matrilwood]

ok, the first time the physics flipped out on you, you'd gone off the track and up the side of a mountain first, but what the hell happened at the end? XD

[@falkerhard]

I rmemeber PC Format really loved this game. SVGA was the end goal.

[@HybridDivide]

Nice review. If you ever decide to get rid of that copy of WipEout you have sitting there, let me know! I'll happily take it off your hands!

[@419Films]

The 2nd racing game I ever bought, and the 1st one on the PC. (My 1st racing game was _Test Drive_ on the C64.)

[@jeremysart]

Since the word awesome is in there, I'll assume your not talking about the NAM that uses the build engine. Although, for a kid with an underpowered PC in the late 90's, I spent a little time on that game.

[@Riverhill]

I'd love to see a review on Big Red Racing!

[@Ralleighen]

You're awesome dude.

[@andipajeroking]

Oh my god, cannot believe this. For the last years i thought the game i was playing 27 years ago was Test Drive, but i did not recognize the tracks. No, Car & Driver it was!

[@ansharzero]

Omg, was that a Circle K in the parking lot stage? Perhaps it was a tribute to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure lol

[@Osprey850]

I really liked this game. I totally forgot that it was from Looking Glass. Yeah, there wasn't much challenge or point to it, but it had good graphics and a few of the tracks allowed you to drive off of the road. It was the closest thing to a simulation of real world driving before I got my driver's license, so it scratched the itch to drive before I could actually drive.

[@tomahzo]

4:24 : Gotta love how both cars decided to commit seppuku before impact. It's better to go out on your own terms ;).

[@palebeachbum]

I actually ran this on a 286mhz processor. It ran soooo slow, understandably. Yet I still had fun with it at the time.

[@appabend]

0:50 Nothing but a shocked expression.

[@Speedojesus]

It's true, you're really cool, and better then other reviewers.

[@life_score]

What a game this was, to chill

[@marccusumano1138]

What a great game. I realize now that I like a casual cruiser like this more than a game like Gran Turismo. I can only care so much about shaving milliseconds off of my time, driving around in circles. Games like this, NFS1, NFS Porsche Unleashed are where it's at for me.

[@DDantohi]

4:24 the Cars explode before crashing, that made my day. Oh good ol' days...

[@user-rs1lw2gg8l]

I had that game, now i want it)))

[@sacamentobob]

i played the other racing games at the time, but not this. This looked quite ahead of its time graphics wise!

[@Vamptonius]

Someone else has heard of Stunts?! Many happy hours in the computer lab playing whack-a-mole with the staff using this and Wolf3d.

[@palebeachbum]

Stunts and Stunt Driver were more fun, but I still had a blast playing this game back in the day. I enjoyed driving the Talon the best. I'd use the parking lot to practice parking. 😂

[@Speedojesus]

And you're the reason why I got Duke Nukem 3D, because of your Duke Nukem series retrospective.

[@joman66]

Seen the game Car and Driver.. and it looks like a standout to me.

[@Bizarrix]

It looks excellent for the time it was made...and you can read the actual tests for the cars featured...there were some great racing games for PC then,this,Test Drive,Nascar

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

"Car and Driver" lacks plenty of finetuning and feels more like unfinished alpha software (no collision detection on parking lot, absurdly blocky pixel tree sprites and horizons etc.).

[@bwc1976]

C&D rocked! I wish more driving games would have a parking lot and autocross track to tear around in. Stunts was another favorite of mine back then, they were both better than Test Drive 3!

[@SkelterHelter]

Hey you should play one of the most classic driving games Driver!

[@simonhoney2050]

If that menu was done in a modern game and slicked up a bit, that'd be pretty stylish.. but I can appreciate that the DOS version looks and feels like Encarta. :D

[@games4356]

Do you have any plans to do a lets play of any of the Driver games?

[@FangedBaby99]

I've heard of this game before, now I know what it plays like :D

[@8BitPicklez]

You should do an LGR plays of Big Rigs, that'd be hilarious!

[@NJRoadfan]

I wonder how it sounds with the MT-32. That certainly doesn't look like the real NY Route 97! Both Looking Glass and Blue Sky has origins with the original development team of the Mattel Intellivision. Looking Glass was also responsible for the 3D engine used in Ultima Underworld.

[@benjamintay]

ah the nostalgics