Night Driver

Night Driver (1980)
Atari 2600

One of the earliest real-time, first-person games, Night Driver for the Atari 2600 is based on the 1976 arcade version.  In the arcade version there are more distinct difficult modes, a different high-score system and the ability to shift gears.  Amusingly, what I remember most about it was that the vehicle you are driving isn't rendered by the game, it's a decal stuck on the screen.  In the arcade, this game always seemed archaic and boring, but I would have seen it 4 or 5 years after it's release.

On Atari, it was a game that I barely knew.  I wouldn't have purchased it simply due to it's use of the paddle controller.  I only liked one game with that controller and that game was Warlords.  It was otherwise always gimmicky.  However, since the age of emulation is here, I was able to play it with a USB dual-shock controller.

The game is quite tricky.  Like all the older videogames, Night Driver is merciless.  The goal is to get the highest score possible in 90 seconds.  The score is based on distance, so you have to drive the furthest, I suppose.  The road twists and turns and there are other vehicles as obstacles (which wasn't in the arcade version).  There are 8 "game modes"  1-4 is timed mode, 90 seconds.  1-3 is easy, medium and hard, while 4 is a random track.  5-8 are the same things but no time limit.

I have to confess that the screen images of this game are composites, they're fakes.  The 2600 was not able to render the elements on the side of the road and the car at the same time.  It alternates which element it is drawing and relying on the refresh rate to make them appear to be there simultaneously.  It's something a lot of 2600 games do.  So, basically, I just cut out a car from one screenshot and pasted it onto another with the road.


As the game progresses, the road will turn left or right and you have to follow the road, simple.  On the first three difficulty levels, the track is set.  On the fourth it is random.  I decided to try to get a decent score, but didn't know what was decent.  I'd read, anecdotally, that the highest possible score is 91.  I decided to try 30.

It took me about an hour of practice before I was able to consistently get a score of 30.  As you progress the clock never stops.  One of the most annoying situations is when you crash, reset a little bit, crash again, reset, crash... When you crash you are suspended for a few seconds as your rest you can slide a bit to the side as it goes, but if you can't get far enough over, you'll crash again.  Then you misjudge the turn because you're slower now, crash!  A car comes around the bend, crash.  I've been stuck in that loop for up to 6 crashes in a row.  Ugh.

Eventually, I was able to memorize the pattern of the track and get a decent score.  Just hitting 50 exactly.  The next step would be to do the same for each difficulty level, but I decided to just do the random track until I could get 50 on that.  It did take a few more days, but I managed it.  The skills I learned translated fairly well to the new track.  It really helped me react to the direction changes, because I'd sometimes forget the pattern in the easier level and have to figure it out.  It's more nerve wracking, but manageable, eventually.

This one is a different color because it's the end screen.  The game continues racing along a track while the elements cycle through colots.  This was my final attempt when I finally hit the score I wanted.  I don't think I could get much higher without a lot more practice and I wasn't interested enough to try it.

The game is fun.  It's a bit repetitive but it challenges your skills in a balanced way.  I never felt like throwing the controller, haha.  Instead, I was able to gradually increase my skills, reaction times and scores in what felt like a "fair" way.

Amusingly, my 12 year old son walked by as I played and asked, "What the heck is that?"  I replied that it was an old racing game.  He said, "Obviously," and walked away.  I suppose the graphics haven't held up well, and my wife commented on the old digital beeps used for the car horns, so I'd have to say that it's a bit dated.  However, it's still a fun game.  I can't see playing it much more than I have, but it's certainly not unplayable, and it's actually a decent racing experience for such an old console.  If I were scoring things, I'd give it around a 6 out of 10.  It's dated, primitive and repetitious,  but has the essence of a fairly good racing game.