#arcade conversion

" Game of the month? Game of the year? Maybe even... The greatest Saturn arcade conversion ever? " Official Sega Saturn Magazine n26 - December, 1997.

However far off the gameplay is, with Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart apparently comes some attempt to recreate the world of off-road truck racing. Not by using real tracks, or trying to create real handling, or a real range of vehicles rather than four brightly coloured ones. No, the apparent verisimilitude is provided by being able to upgrade various bits of your truck in between races, and by going to the trouble of creating art for podium ceremonies. Again, a sizeable part of its audience playing this didn’t know or care how those work, but here we are — three white guys in sunglasses wearing different coloured overalls, with one hand holding a trophy and the other frequently around a white woman in a bikini. The women appear, with trophies, on the extra player holding spots on menus, too. The subtext of women as trophies, their bodies as a man’s reward, couldn’t be clearer if it appeared on the screen in flashing red capitals. Maybe that’s how things were in reality in off-road racing — we’re still not far off it in some sporting events a quarter century later — and no slight meant to women doing their jobs. Still, someone had to make the choice for that to be how things were in Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart’s Super Off-Road too.

It’s 1989. You are apparently, despite appearances to the contrary, a kiwi. A seal has captured your kiwi companions including, with sad predictability, your bow-wearing kiwi girlfriend. You must trek across the country to rescue them, but there are things out to stop you: bear things, star things, penguin things riding flying ducks, axe-throwing cats, dank things in shells. Welcome to New Zealand. It’s been waiting for you.