Race Drivin’ for SEGA Genesis is the greatest most realistic driving simulator ever known to man kind!  Seriously!  Some have described Gran Turismo 5 as a skid mark left on the driver’s seat of the arcade version of Hard Drivin’.  It is that good!

Well maybe not.  The SEGA Genesis port is an excellent version of the arcade game which was an arcade smash and showed the world what the future of driving simulators would look like.

The game retains the faithfulness of the arcade version: the choice of manual or automatic transmissions, a time extension model where by you keep passing check points for additional game time, a speed and stunt course, a ramp and a loop de loop, and a barn and a cow that says moo.  Oh and lets not forget the phantom photon who will race your best time if you complete the course in a certain time. 

The game does lack the frame rate of the arcade game so it seems choppy at times and some of the polygons are missing details but for what Tengen set out to do with this game they did an excellent job.  Comparitively the arcade version uses a few powerful processors to render the environment and the steering feedback which obviously isnt available in the home versions.

Most people will not like Hard Drivin’ because like the arcade game it is difficult to handle.  You will spin out frequently.  The controls require a feather touch and if you exceed the speed limit you will suffer.

The good news is this game is easy to find and not expensive at all.  Recommended but spend no more than $2 loose and $5 complete.