Do the state. California Speed.

Arcade racing games in the ‘90s were popular. Some racing games from Sega included Virtua Racing, Daytona USA, and Sega Rally Championship. Namco created Ridge Racer and Leland gave us Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road. There were many more, but that was just to name a few. For me, one of the more memorable racing games from that time would be California Speed.

California Speed was developed by Atari, the same people who created the Rush series of arcade games. CS was released in arcades in 1998 and it looked like a game that was built on ideas from two previous arcade racers. One from Atari itself with the Rush series and the other was the Cruis'n games from developer Midway. Of the three noted racing franchises, California Speed was my favorite because it seems like it was created by taking the lessons learned from the Rush series, and adding bits of elements taken from the Cruis'n games. Both of which were games I liked a lot.

The arcade machine itself even looks like it’s a fusion between Atari and Midway. A sport racing seat that looks like the seat from Cruis'n World, but with the color of the seat from Midway’s Hydro Thunder; the different colored view buttons to the left of the steering wheel is similar to the cabinet from Cruis'n USA; and the same seat base from again, Hydro T. The cabinet’s side art is covered with stereotypical scenic elements of California such as palm trees, clear blue skies, and coast lines mixed with a checkered flag pattern coming from the base of the machine. Atari logo is large and displayed on the sides, just below the seat.

The first time I got to play this game was back in 1998 at an arcade in the Colorado Belle Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nevada. I was staying there with my Boy Scout troop because our summer camp trip came to an abrupt end earlier in the day when a sports boat a parent was using for escorting us in canoes and kayaks down the Colorado River sank. A combination of bad weather (which created high waves) and a low riding boat (because there was too much weight on it) caused the vessel I was riding in to be crushed under a few wakes and took on too much water to stay afloat. Nobody was hurt, but this kind of took the wind out of our sails (pun intended) and the trip would end early. The last night of our trip was at the Colorado Belle. Why take a group of boys between the ages of 10-17 to a casino and not a park or campground? The answer is because my scout troop was rad. That’s why.

Anyways, after we have finished eating breakfast the next morning at the buffet is when I saw the cabinet for California Speed. I was impressed by its super clean graphics, it was similar to other racing games I liked, and for the fact that the game took place in the state I lived in. It was at this point that I realized I had a new favorite arcade racer which would top my previous favorite, Cruis'n USA.

The game starts at the stage select screen. You can select a specific track to race or you can choose the tournament mode titled “Do the State” that takes you through all of the stages. After making a selection the camera cuts to a scene where you can select the vehicle you want to race on that track with. The camera is traveling down a road pointed backwards showing all of the cars you can select. Afterwards, you select either automatic or manual transmission. Next, a quick load time occurs which shows the car you’ve selected driving down a tunnel. Out on the other side of the runnel are the other cars waiting at the starting line. You stop at the end waiting for the race to start. Both the start and finish of each race is similar to the Cruis'n games where there are a bunch of bikini clad ladies cheering while one is waving either a green or checkered flag.

With the exception of the raceways, each stage does not have a circuit track to race on. There are a total of ten racers and the goal is to cross the finish first. The game also has a time limit, so there are checkpoints you need to get to so you can add more time to your clock. There are split paths, hidden shortcuts, and big jumps to be found in some of the stages. You are also racing through traffic so you got to watch out for oncoming vehicles.

As you would guess, California Speed takes place within the state of California. The game has a total of 14 stages and all take place at real locations. The list of stages include: Los Angeles, Willow Springs Raceway, the Central Valley, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, San Diego, Highway 1, Santa Cruz, Sears Point Raceway, the Mojave Desert, Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey Bay, Mount Shasta, and Yosemite. For the most part, the stages are not an accurate copy of the location the stage takes place in. They are mostly a cartoony representation, but do contain many elements, buildings, and point of references of said location. One of the things I like most about California Speed is all of the scripted events that occur while racing through the stage. From planes flying overhead to stuff blowing up around you keeps things entertaining as you are battling to get to first place.

Each stage varies in levels of difficulty from easy, to advanced, to expert. Of all the stages, my favorites are San Diego and Mojave Desert.

The Mojave Desert stage begins by having you driving past a number of large oil pumpjacks and open desert. You then drive around a blind bend in the road and cross into a military base. As you enter the base, a voice on a loudspeaker gives you a warning: "This is a restricted area. Turn your vehicle around now. If you do not comply, we will open fire." A stealth bomber flies above as this is being said. A few seconds later they begin bombing the road you're on and explosions are happening all around you as you speed through the desert landscape. The final part of the stage has you enter into an alien spaceship. Inside, you’ll be racing past giant aliens in different colored force fields on a twisty path that circle around the spacecraft. Alongside the ladies, a crowd of aliens will greet you at the finish line.

The San Diego stage starts on a freeway, passing by overpasses, highways signs, and what I believe is the San Onofre nuclear power plant. You’ll eventually cross a boarder station and go into Mexico. As you do so, two jets fly perpendicular overhead to the direction you are heading. As you get to a town, a layer is added to the music and what I consider could be one of the more stereotypical things I’ve heard in a game. The music change to a mariachi type track with a guy yelling stuff like “arriba!” and a woman saying something in Spanish I quite can’t quite pick up on. After passing the town, there will be another boarder station that leads back into the United States. Again, the two jets from earlier will fly by when you cross the border. You will see downtown San Diego in the background as the bridge you are on drops onto a Naval port where you will drive near and on an aircraft carrier, a battleship, and a submarine. Leaving the port will lead you to the Hotel Del Coronado where you will cross the finish line shortly after.

The audio is really great too. The soundtrack is very eclectic which ranges from techno, house, county, disco(?), and rock. One of my favorite music tracks is the one from the Highway One stage. The sound is well done too. I remember the arcade machine being very loud, especially during all of the explosions. There is also a female announcer throughout the game. She will not just say “GO!” or “CHECKPOINT!”, but will give a comment when something happens. If you hit another car she might say “I think I broke a nail” or when you drive into a mall she says “Let’s go shopping!” Even though some of the comments are dumb, I still like them. It shows the developers wanted to give you your money’s worth when playing this game by cramming as much stuff as they can during your short time playing this in the arcades.

I will admit that the ending is a bit odd. The one where a lady in a two-piece bikini walks up to your car, gives you some compliments, and then walks away off camera. All this is happening where the Golden Gate Bridge is shown in the background. Another odd thing I remember about this game was its high advertisement for 3dfx hardware; which was used for this game. I believe this was shown on in game billboards, a sticker on the side of the cabinet, and during the screen attraction.

The unfortunate thing is that this game got only one port and it was for the Nintendo 64. This is a shame because that port is garbage! Reviews at the time echo that statement as well. It’s a shame this game wasn’t ported to other consoles like the PlayStation, or even better, the Dreamcast. If they were able to make a great port of Hydro Thunder for the Dreamcast then they should have been able to do the same quality for a game like California Speed too. I don’t know who owns the license for California Speed, but they should consider porting it to PSN and XBLA. They’ll already have one customer waiting to purchase if they ever plan to do so. If not, then at least I got this gameplay video.