Racing Destruction Set

Overview

Racing Destruction Set from Electronic Arts is a car and motocross racing game developed for the Commodore 64, and later released on the Atari 8-bit. The game was known for its at the time innovative track editor. It received much critical praise, and saw numerous remakes and copycats in the years following its release. 

Gameplay

The gameplay is that of the typical racing game: just beat your opponent in a lapped race. The game is played from an isometric perspective and splits the screen in two, with each part showing a different player, allowing one to easily track their opponents progress. This is also how the game handles multiplayer.
 
Up to two players can compete against each other in Racing Destruction Set. Player 1 is put in control of the red car on the upper half of the screen, and player 2 controls the yellow car on lower part of the screen.
 

Track Editor

For its time, Racing Destruction Set was a highly innovative racing game for many reasons. The most notable one being its track editor. With it, players could create their very own tracks using one of several templates to choose from, and from there, add things like ramps and elevation changes, as well as different terrain like sand, ice, and, of course, standard tarmac.
 
Each terrain type produces different effects. Ice, for example, causes cars to slip all over the place, and sand slows the car when driving on it. These obstacles can hinder your opponents progress or your own, which can make for some very challenging tracks if done correctly.
 

Car Customization

 In addition to the robust track editor, Racing Destruction Set also allowed players to customize certain aspects of their cars, such as tires and engines. They could also load it with traps like land mines, and oil that players can spill behind their vehicles.
 
The types of tires you use effect how well the car will handle on various surfaces. Some are better for ice, while others are better for dirt. This makes being conscious of what your car is specked out with important to know, as failure to properly spec your vehicle could result in losing the race
 

Other Customizable Elements

• Gravity levels
• Difficulty level, and skill level of your opponent
• Number of laps
• Graphic style

 

List of Available Vehicles

• Can-Am sports car
• Jeep
• Lunar Rover
• Dirt bike
• Baja bug
• Pickup
• Sting ray
• Stock car
• Indy/Gran prix

 

Modes

The game features two modes that up to two players can compete in: a standard lapped race, or destruction mode. The former is standard race to the finish line, and the latter tasks players with taking down their opponent using oil slicks and land mines that can be ejected from the vehicles.
 

Remakes

A remake of Racing Destruction Set was released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, under the name Radical Pyscho Machine Racing. Rock N' Roll Racing, which followed the release of RPM Racing, was also released on the SNES in 1993.