is a 1989

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

developed and published by

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

. It was released in North America by

Atari Games Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade video games, active from 1985 to 1999, then as Midway Games West Inc. until 2003. It was formed when the coin-operated video game division of Atari, Inc. was transferred by its owner Wa ...

, and was ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1991 as ''Quad Challenge''.

Gameplay

Players take control of four quad bikes (red for Player 1, white for Player 2, yellow for Player 3, and green for Player 4), which are competing in an "off-road" race. They all have a preset amount of time in which to complete a full lap of the track, but for each lap of the track that is successfully completed, the players' time is extended. If one of the players cannot manage to successfully complete the current lap of the track before the time runs out, that player's game will instantly be over and the race will continue without them. The players must complete between three and six full laps of the track in order to win (the number is dependent on how both of the cabinets are set, as with Namco's own '' Final Lap''). The players can also encounter between four and seven blue CPU-controlled bikes on the track, as the number is dependent on how many people are playing (seven for one player, six for two players, five for three, and four for four).

Reception and legacy

In North America, the arcade version was the top-grossing new video game on the ''RePlay'' arcade charts in April 1990. The Sega Genesis version was released with little commercial fanfare, and it never made major sales figures. ''Four Trax'' is considered to be one of the first

off-road racing Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments (e.g. snow, dirt, mud, etc.). North America Desert racing D ...

games for a console system. It was released more than 10 years before '' ATV Offroad Fury'' for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

brought the genre into the 21st century, but it has become a niche genre again since THQ discontinued their '' MX vs. ATV'' series. Even prior to the cancellation of the ''MX vs. ATV'' series, driving an ATV around closed-circuit tracks never appealed much to the mainstream audience of gamers.

Notes

References

1989 video games Arcade video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Namco arcade games Racing video games Video games developed in Japan {{racing-videogame-stub