Moonshine Racers was an arcade racing game developed by PeakStar software and released by Millenium in 1991.
As I recall it was a quite respectable little race game with an unusual setting. You were cast as a trafficker of illegal alcohol, driving your speedy little jalopy in a stereotype “Southern US” environment as seen in Dukes Of Hazzard. It had a neatly drawn and animated intro with some typically nice music from Richard Joseph.
The in-game graphics were inevitably not up to the same standard as that intro but were perfectly acceptable by the in-game standards of other race games of the time.
Moonshine Racers was an arcade racing game developed by PeakStar software and released by Millenium in 1991.
As I recall it was a quite respectable little race game with an unusual setting. You were cast as a trafficker of illegal alcohol, driving your speedy little jalopy in a stereotype “Southern US” environment as seen in Dukes Of Hazzard. It had a neatly drawn and animated intro with some typically nice music from Richard Joseph.
The in-game graphics were inevitably not up to the same standard as that intro but were perfectly acceptable by the in-game standards of other race games of the time. As with those other race games of the time it went for the standard fixed “raised third person” viewpoint, which
it presented perfectly well with a decent field of vision and no pop-up problems. Part of the fun of the game was to be had from the interaction of the driver and passenger sitting next to each other in the cab, with sometimes distracting comedy conversations and remarks made through the medium of speech bubbles as the race went along.
We always liked it as it had a different atmosphere to other race games, the difficulty-curve was fair and there were no obvious faults. It was an unspectacular and fun little game. One downer we do remember about it though was the unfortunate absence of a 2-player option. A 2-player split-screen option had been pretty much standard in race games for a long time so was a noticeable omission in this as a later arrival and really a missed opportunity since for us there was something particularly appealing about dodging the police and racing against each other. If it had been more successful that would’ve surely been a guaranteed addition for a sequel but why they didn’t put it in this first one is anyone’s guess.
It got quite a mixed reception at time of release as I recall with some magazines giving it scores around 50% or less and others up to more like 80% so make of that what you will. From talking to friends who remember that is perhaps a fair representation of the differences of opinion, with some remembering it as just a “poor man’s Lotus” (although it probably cost more at the time!) and others, like my brother and I, who remember putting quite a few hours in and regularly returning to it. If you approach it with an open mind, not expecting a Lotus-beater or anything ground-breaking, you’ll find a decently enjoyable little game with a fun and unusual atmosphere and setting.
