Speed Devils

''Speed Busters'' (known in North America as ''Speed Busters: American Highways'') is a video game developed by Ubisoft's Montreal studio for Microsoft Windows in 1998. It was released for the Dreamcast in 1999 as ''Speed Devils''. This racing game features courses with hazards such as dinosaurs, rolling boulders, and UFOs set in exotic locales, including Louisiana, Louisiana Tornado, New York City, New York City Winter, Mexico, Nevada, Aspen Summer, Aspen Winter, Canada (supposedly northern Quebec), Canada Light Winter, Canada Heavy Winter, Montreal Industrial, Hollywood, and Hollywood Disaster. The console version's career mode allows players to advance through the ranks of a fictional racing league. Colorful rivals challenge players to accomplish specific feats during races, placing bets using prize money earned from competitions. The money earned from gambling and performance is used to purchase cars, upgrade them, and maintain them. The game also supports up to five players on a single Dreamcast console.

In 2000, Sega released ''Speed Devils Online Racing'', an updated version of the game for Dreamcast that added online play.

Reception

''Speed Busters: American Highways'' and ''Speed Devils'' received favorable reviews, while the mobile version of the latter received mixed reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. ''GameRevolution'' reviewed the Dreamcast version, stating, "At the finish line, Speed Devils is an above-average racer, but not much more." The reviewer noted that the game featured good graphics and appealing cars but suffered from poorly designed tracks, leaving players wondering how they managed to drive off a cliff without noticing it. The article also criticized the game's two-player mode for being boring and drawn out. ''Edge'' rated the same console version seven out of ten, stating, "While not outstanding in any particular regard, ''Speed Devils'' is good entertainment that should captivate anyone tired of realistic racers with its accessible and player-friendly arcade-like nature." Chris Charla of '' NextGen'' described the same console version as "the best racing game you can find on Dreamcast today." In Japan, where the same console version was released on November 18, 1999, ''Famitsu'' awarded it a score of 29 out of 40.

Nick Smith of ''AllGame'' gave ''Speed Busters: American Highways'' three-and-a-half stars out of five, stating, "You'll have a fast and furious time with ''SpeedBusters'' —but only if you have a competent graphics card. If you've got a puny PC with little video memory, forget it." However, Jonathan Sutyak rated ''Speed Devils'' two-and-a-half stars out of five, commenting, "If you can overlook the obstacles, or even enjoy them, you may get a kick out of some of the races. Although the ability to run tracks in the opposite direction with some different obstacles is a plus, ''Speed Devils'' becomes repetitive due to the long laps of each track and the weak computer opponents. They may try to block you when you attempt to pass and will also ram into you, but ultimately, they do not provide an exceptional challenge."

Speed Devils Online Racing

''Speed Devils Online Racing'' received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

See also

* ''Asphalt'', a series of arcade racing games by Gameloft

References

External links

*
* {{moby game, id=/dreamcast/speed-devils

1998 video games
Dreamcast games
Mobile games
Racing video games
Ubisoft games
Video games developed in Canada
Windows games