Roadsters is very much a refined sequel to Automobili Lamborghini. You can tell it’s built upon the same game engine, and many elements feel incredibly similar – including the very odd mix of realistic and arcade elements. Roadsters, however, feels much smoother and nicer to play.

While Roadsters includes real cars, they weren’t able to get all the licenses they wanted, so the game also includes obvious rip-offs of Porsche and Ferrari cars.

In the singleplayer mode, you start off only being able to afford one of the more basic cars, starting out in C class. Opponents are in better cars, so winning is a big struggle. As you earn money by playing rounds of six tracks, you’ll be able to afford upgrades and better cars. The difficulty then becomes staying on the track, as brushing the grass or edge will very quickly slow you down to a halt. You’ll also have to cope with weather conditions, using the pits to swap tyre types.

While everything sounds like a very serious racer so far, the tracks feel like they belong in a different game, with settings like Area 51, an old castle, and driving into volcanoes. They’re all really enjoyable tracks, and you’ll need to learn every inch of them if you want to beat your opponents.

Roadsters is a fine game, then. There aren’t that many tracks, but they make up for it in variety and enjoyment. They’re not quite in the same league as Beetle Adventure Racing, but they are unique when combined with the more serious nature of the rest of Roadsters.

Fine

The fact that Roadsters gets better the more you play, though, means you’ll also start noticing its faults. Undoubtedly the worst is that, when you’re lagging behind, all the CPU cars out front seem to travel the same speed as you, so it’s almost impossible to catch up once you’ve made a few mistakes. Conversely, if you complete a lap at the front of the pack, you’ll inexplicably just start pulling away so that, by the time you’ve finished the course, you’re about a lap and a half in front.

Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #36. Review Score: 80%

Remake or remaster?

Like Automobili Lamborghini, it could be included in a Super Speed Racer compilation.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to play Roadsters