Super Hang On 10/08/97

Bike-racing games were all the go back in the halcyon days of computer gaming. Wheelie kinda started it all on the Spectrum - but that was rubbish. Epyx had their terrifically American Super Cycle and later on, Super Cycle 2, whilst Mastertronic retaliated with budget priced Speed King and later on, Speed King 2.

In the arcades, meanwhile, Sega`s Hang On was thrilling gamesters with it`s big bike-sized handlebars. It`s scary opening sequence, rocky soundtrack and breathtaking graphics and speed stole the whole show. That was until Out Run, but that wasn`t a bike racing game and has no place here.



Hang On never made it to the mainstream computer formats. For reasons probably best known to Sega, perhaps Hang On hadn`t been as much of a success in the UK as they had hoped. Enduro Racer got the conversion treatment and was good to middling across the range.

By late 1986, the "cabinet" gimmick had firmly taken hold of the arcade scene and refused to let go. If your arcade game didn`t come complete with ridiculous attachment or near house-sized sit-in/sit-down/crouch-over cabinet it generally flopped. Super Hang-On introduced the riding-a-bike-against-the-clock whilst-actually-sitting-on-a-motorbike concept.

But how was it on the Amiga?



Sadly, Super Hang-On was released at a time when Atari ST port-overs were the order of the day. However, in it`s transfer from clearly inferior little 16-bit brother it had gained some speed, atrocious music and a few minor graphical improvements which gave it the edge over the, already competent enough, ST version.

The game loads with a reasonably drawn picture of a bike. The type of which I`m not sure since I`m not particularly au fait with types of bike. After this, the options screen appears, which lets you choose your control method. Although one of UAE`s weaker points is it`s mouse emulation, the mouse is STILL THE CHOICE OF CHAMPIONS and you can alter the sensitivity of it accordingly.

After you`ve chosen your controls, it`s time to decide just how good you are likely to be at the game. Four tracks are on offer ranking from Beginner to Expert. The difficulty of the courses is not necessarily reflected in your choice, merely the amount of checkpoints required to visit in the allotted time. Next it`s on to the music selection screen. Typically bad, all four soundtracks offer little in the way of atmospherical accompaniment so a firm click of the nitro button to continue is advised. Strangely, even though the music is evidently of poor quality, playing Super Hang-On with no music at all is like washing your face without water. It`s not an option.

Once you`ve "centralised your mouse on the play area" the game begins. If you`re playing with a joystick however, WE ARE BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU and shall ignore you.

Control of your bike is straightforward. Holding the left mouse button revs your bike and speeds you off at tremendous, er, speed. Negotiate corners by moving left and right with the mouse. The leaning motion of the rider adds to the overall atmosphere of the game, lending an illusion of incredible speed and depth. Although on collision with another cyclist, you may be disappointed to find that you are merely knocked a bit to the side, and not, for example, exploded into flames.



Collision with scenery, on the other hand, is met with instant death as you are flung from your bike into nearby bushes. Valuable seconds tick away as you miraculously recover, mount your bike, and are returned to the centre of the road to continue the race.

Super Hang-On derives it`s name from the added "nitro" feature, which can be used to best effect on long straights. It`s activated by pressing the right mouse button when you are at full throttle. The action gets near frenetic at times and really shows off both what careful programming can achieve (this is 1989 remember) and what fun can still be had with a game as ancient as this (this is 1989, etc.)

The aim is to last the distance for as long as possible. Survive the entire course in the time allowed and you`ll be popping champagne corks. If you run out of time the game halts instantly - hardly realistic, but in true time-honoured arcade fashion. The top half of the screen display contains a bar with your "Start" point to the left, and the final "Goal" checkpoint to the right, so you can see how much further you have to go at all times. Except for when the sky changes to the same colour as the stage bar (tsk.)



There`s still plenty of mileage (Ho Ho. - Ed.) left in Super Hang-On. Sure, there have been tons of better games in the eight years it`s been around. Some might be as cruel to say that it looks laughably primitive by today`s standards, which is fair comment. But in terms of sheer gameplay, there`s little to get frustrated with here. It`s still very fast. The graphics are at least adequate and are well defined.

Super Hang-On still represents something of a challenge and is at least worth a download. If you once loved this game, you`ll be pleased to know that it works flawlessly with both UAE and Fellow (at about 80% speed on my P120). If you`ve never played it before or have never seen an Amiga bike-racer, make Super Hang-On one of your first ports of call at Lazarus. And don`t, for instance, accidentally mistake it for Out Run or something. DeeJay99