Zee Durrani : Hi Markus, I know you’re busy with the development of Alan Wake so thanks for taking the time to speak to us.

Markus Mäki : Hi Zee, no problem at all!

Zee Durrani: Death Rally was your first game but which way round did things happen i.e. did someone come up with the idea to develop Death Rally and then you formed Remedy or was it the other way round ?

Markus Mäki : The idea about forming a game company was there before Death Rally was born, but we did have prototypes of the game a bit before the company was established. But fairly soon after we made the publishing agreement with Apogee / 3DRealms.

Zee Durrani : Death Rally was a game that many of us here at 1upgamers.com grew up on but at a time when many games were going 3D (e.g. Carmageddon to name a few) you guys stuck to a 2D top down format similar to games like GTA 1 & 2. It certainly worked well for the game, but what was the reasoning behind that decision ?

Markus Mäki : The game concept was starting to develop in summer of 1995, and while there were 3D games, it wasn’t seen to be a requirement (Carmageddon and GTA 1 were released a year later than Death Rally). We wanted a game that would be fun, wouldn’t require all the latest hardware, and one that would be possible for a start-up company to get done in a reasonable time. We liked the top-down style, and added 3D elements on top of it, something other similar games had never done.

Zee Durrani : How big was the team that developed Death Rally and how many of the original team are still with you guys ?

Markus Mäki : The core team was 6 people. We still have 3 original team members from that period at Remedy, not including myself.

Zee Durrani : You recently released a FREE version of Death Rally that would work on more modern PC’s any ideas of releasing it on places like Xbox Live Arcade or the Playstation Network. Surely bringing the game online and to a network of gamers who’re already addicted to playing older classics would be a good move ?

Markus Mäki : The reception for the re-released Death Rally has been awesome, so it does bring up ideas about taking the game further. However, this was mostly a hobby project and modernizing a game sufficiently, like the recent Secret of Monkey Island, is a big project and there has to be sufficient business potential. And there may well be, but at the moment Remedy’s 100% focused on shipping Alan Wake.

Zee Durrani : Apparently the re-released version of death rally was a collaboration between yourselves and one Jari Komppa ? How did you meet Jari and when did you guys agree to go ahead with the updated version ?

Markus Mäki : I had met Jari only a few times, but knew him well by reputation from his participation and success in the Assembly demo competitions. He e-mailed me in May 2009 with the idea of resurrecting Death Rally, and after our summer holidays the project was really kicked off in mid-July. Already after a few weeks of investigation the project started to feel doable.

Zee Durrani : The naming convention behind the racers in the game was pure genius ? I mean Clint West, Mad Mac, Jane Honda! The names to many of us fans made the game even more memorable but who came up with the names ?

Markus Mäki : These things are usually a team effort, but our Lead Writer, Sam Lake wrote the texts for Death Rally, so I think quite a few of the names came from him. He since wrote Max Payne 1, Max Payne 2 and is now writing Alan Wake and he still blushes when Death Rally is mentioned. We were so young then!

Zee Durrani : Stepping up from a sentinel to a shrieker (and having those double guns) was a pretty amazing experience ? Were there other weapons, addons and maybe even cars that didn’t make it to the final game ?

Markus Mäki : It’s been over 13 years, and my memory is not what it used to be!

Zee Durrani : Duke Nukem was the only racer who spoke in the game “Hail To The King Baby” etc did you guys ever think of giving the other racers certain catchphrases etc ?

Markus Mäki : We wanted to differentiate Duke from the crowd. There was a discussion on adding more Duke phrases to the game though but I don’t remember why that didn’t happen.

Zee Durrani : Talking of Duke Nukem, what was the relationship with 3DRealms/Apogee when developing the game. If you head over to their website for games like Max Payne, they state “Developed By Remedy Games, Overseen By 3D Realms”. What does overseeing mean exactly ?

Markus Mäki : Typically I think it would’ve been called producing, but I think our relationship with 3D Realms was closer than a typical developer-producer relationship. George and Scott at 3D Realms were good mentors, sounding boards and even co-designers in some key features.

Zee Durrani : How important was having Duke Nukem in the game and was it something you guys wanted or something that 3DRealms requested ?

Markus Mäki : If my memory serves me right I think it was something 3D Realms suggested, as an easy way to cross-promote Duke Nukem and get a recognizable character attached to Death Rally. I think it definitely added a cool factor to the game.

Zee Durrani : Thanks for your time Markus, was a pleasure speaking to you.
Markus Mäki : Thanks, Zee

This was a time of much change and progress for PC gamers, we’d seen the back of the x86 PC’s and had only a few years earlier started to enjoy pentium power. 3D games had just started to hit the shelves and despite all of these positives the strongest memories I have of this time are of me playing Death Rally.

The top down racing shooter featuring Duke Nukem and a whole cast of other character misfits all with their very own slightly misspelled names! This was a big year for Duke Nukem as well as Apogee and things were only about to get better. With PC games reaching new heights me and my trusty 8MB Pentium 75Mhz weren’t going to miss a thing.

Shareware Version

It was a cold winter’s day and after having completed a marathon session of Z (developed by the Bitmap Brothers, you remember those guys right ?) I happened to stumble upon Death Rally on my monthly cover disc.

Now when I say stumbled upon I really do mean that because this was a game that wasn’t in my list of anticipated games nor was it something I had previously heard of. In fact looking back at why I bothered to install the game I’m pretty sure it was due to Duke Nukem’s feature and the prospective of racing against him being kind of appealing.

Expecting the game to be a complete waste of time I was absolutely shocked to find myself playing it for the next 10 hours. This single point in time marks not only my introduction to the game Death Rally but also to the greatness of Remedy Entertainment and the games that were to follow (e.g. Max Payne 1 & 2, as well as the up and coming Alan Wake).

Simply Addictive

If you ask anyone who played the game in its early days most would assuredly sum it up as “addictive“. In fact the simplicity of the game led to the addictivity which was a sequence of buying a car, winning races, earning money, buying a better car and then repeating. 

It didn’t matter how many times you raced a track or how many times you raced the same opponents, each time the game would be different and each time your hunger to win both the money and the points increased!

Throw into the equation no rules, guns, mines, pre-race sabotage, and the ability to engage in underhanded drug smuggling operations and you had in front of you a game with plenty of in game choice. Whether you chose to win by racing or by gunning down your competitors, well the choice was totally yours.

In Race Bonuses

Winning was everything but as well as coming first there were other motivational cash rewards thrown into each race. For example if you won the race by killing all of your opponents you earned a “Wraith Bonus” an extra $4000 into your pocket. If you finished the race with less than 3% damage, once again you earned another $4000 again straight into your pocket. These cash rewards were significant but getting them wasn’t always easy so when you did win them it was a reason to be extatic. 

Add to the above mix graphics which at their core were 2D but had 3D elements placed over them and you have a game that not only looks good but ran respectfully on most PC’s. Even by todays standards the graphics still look slick, the music doesn’t feel dated and above all the game has a solid production quality about it.

Cool Characters

One of the key aspects that led to the longevity of the game was the mix of entertaining personalities and characters. Sure there was no online play or even network play available at the time but the game was pre packed with 20 racers all of whom carried different driving traits.

With Duke Nukem leading the cast of racers it was almost like having real personalities racing against you. In fact whoever programmed the AI did a smashing job of individualising the racers making them extremely recognisable both from the way they raced to the way they purchased upgrades and in race weapons.

Certainly the misspelled names added to the characterisation and I won’t go into the four letter, foul mouthed words I yelled when I was beaten at the line by Bogus Bill or gunned down by Mad Mac. Certainly taking the game that seriously and holding personal grudges against individual AI racers can only happen when great care and time has been spent on the individual character elements within the game!

Death Rally Re-Released

If you’ve never played Death Rally then it’s an absolute gem amongst todays big name games. Played today it’s as addictive as it was 10+ years ago and thankfully you no longer have to rely on working with those pesky emulators due to Remedy re-releasing the game to work on modern PC’s. It’s now absolutely free to download from their website.

Remedy Games Interview

For those of you who enjoy our retrospectives we thought we’d mix things up a little this time. So instead of a single lengthy article talking about the game in a reminiscent, old memories type of way we thought we’d throw in an interview with Markus Mäki one of the founders of Remedy Entertainment and a key player in the development and production of Death Rally. Here’s the full Remedy Games - Death Rally Interview.

Then there are the rare games played that have music so beautiful and so epic you not only can sing the lyrics or recall the tune in fine detail, but if you’re like me, actually buy the soundtrack to the game!

There are two games in particular that had such gorgeous and stunning music that I was even more moved by the story because of the musical crutch it had to lean on. I praise these two games not only for the artistic beauty of the music, but how it captured the world of the game and the emotions that cast of characters held throughout game play.

Shadow of the Colossus

Released in 2005, Shadow of the Colossus is the spiritual successor and prequel to the game, Ico. It follows the story of a young man named Wander who has agreed to travel across an empty and lonely land with no company but his horse in order to kill sixteen colossi to restore the life of a woman named Mono.

Wander does not speak, nor interact with just about anything, but the turmoil and pain he is going through is written so clearly on his face that you just know, walking into this game, it will not end well.

Shadow of the Colossus had great praise upon its release, most specifically for its soundtrack, winning ‘Soundtrack of the Year’ by Electronic Gaming Monthly. The emptiness of the world, mixed with gentle orchestra pieces sets a very somber, almost heartbreaking tone for the rest of the game.

Especially epic tracks played throughout the game occur when Wander encounters a colossi. One moment, with probably the most moving of all fight songs, is when the track, A Violent Encounter, plays while Wander must fight a colossi and is screaming desperately for the aid of his horse, Agro, blending his distress and the music’s perfectly. A moving game story wise, but something on a completely higher scale when paired with the music by Ko Otani.

Chrono Cross

Released in 2000 with a soundtrack written by Yasunori Mitsuda, Chrono Cross received a near perfect rating for its game play, graphics and wonderful story. Mitsuda, having previously worked on Chrono Trigger, was hired by director Masato Kato to continue with the feel of ‘Chrono sound.’ Mitsuda said he drew upon scenery as his inspiration, keeping to old world influences. This gave the game, which has its story set in two alternate worlds, a very unique and eclectic feel to each realm.

Mitsuda purposefully game the Home world and Another world bright and dark moods, which allows the player to instantly know where they are, simply feeling from the music they are either in a welcoming place or are lonely and lost. The soundtrack to Chrono Cross is, more often than not, very light in terms of how much sound there is, which is completely opposite of Otani’s orchestras, but for this game, the story is told better with less.

The song which I feel was the most important, the one that really did pull the entire story and atmosphere of the game together was the final track, Radical Dreamers - The Unstolen Jewel, sung by Noriko Mitose.

It is so elegant and deep, hopeful and sad, it honestly pulls every emotion felt throughout the game into one complete song. It is said that upon playing the game with the soundtrack inserted, director Kato, was brought to tears by the ending theme.

Jet Grind Radio

Known as Jet Set Radio in Japan, this game was released in 2000 and was one of the first to really maximize the use of the cel-shade art that is so popular now. The game centers around a gang of teenagers who call themselves the GGs, taking place in the city of Tokyo-to. They battle rival gangs such as the Love Shockers and Noise Tanks for turf by spray painting their logos all across the city.

The game has a hyped up and energizing soundtrack that is featured through the character, DJ Crush. The music fits the funky and almost toonish feel to the game, featuring some heavier artists such as Professional Murder Music and Rob Zombie on some of the more difficult levels that involve rollerblading throughout the districts, trying to claim turf while the entire police force follows on foot, by car and by air.

Jet Grind Radio has a small plot, so it can be easy to continue after an absence. It is also not an extreme sporting game, as the mechanics of the rollerblading are quite easy and actually very fun, and the custom logos the teenagers use making it interactive. The difficulty level rises gradually and isn’t too frustrating, whereas some ’sport’ games have the tendency to be near impossible at times.

Skies of Arcadia

Considered to be one of the ten best games released on the Dreamcast, Skies of Arcadia came out in 2000 and features the main protagonists Vyse and Aika, two sky pirates who perform their duties somewhat like Robin Hood, stealing only from bigger and armed vessels, such as those of the Valuan Armada. In the process, they come across a girl named, Fina and take her along. This game’s story begins like a rescue mission and ends up being a battle for survival against a war.

What is particularly intriguing about this game is the different game play for battles. While traveling on foot, Vyse comes across the ‘random battles’ which is character against monster, but while flying through the world on an airship, although rare, airship battles can take place, which is a lot of fun. Much of the game happens in dungeon settings, in which the player solves puzzles, hunts for treasure and fights monsters.

While the random battles are quite numerous and frankly, the only real complaint the game received, the Dreamcast version has a bit of a trick as to when to identify an upcoming battle and being able to prepare for it. The system will begin to have a loud spin-up in the ROM drive and this hint can give a player ample time to open the menu and make any necessary changes or preps. Skies of Arcadia is a fantastic and fun RPG, one that should not be overlooked by role-playing fans.

For those of you that have never heard of BreakQuest well it’s actually been around. The original game was first developed by Nurium Games for the PC, it was then ported to Mac OS X by Red Marble Games and now in its latest incarnation thanks to Beatshapers makes itself available on the PSP as part of Sony’s new PSP Minis series.

PSP Minis are essentially byte sized games (under 100MB) that are pickup and play games but only available as PSN downloads making them available at the lower end of the pricing market. By all accounts Beatshapers’ port is extremely faithful to the original.

The Controls

The main menu options are selectable via the d-pad, though strangely here the analogue stick does nothing. Within the Quest and Arcade modes ( more on these later ) the d-pad’s up and down buttons allow you to select the difficulty level, while the left and right buttons on the d-pad allow you to select your in-game ship. In these modes the analogue stick allows you to select the level you would like to play, assuming of course you have managed to unlock it.

The most annoying thing about BreakQuest’s menu system, and it’s only a minor point, is that they have mapped going back functionality to the triangle button, when on the PSP and PS3 XMB, and in most games, the back option is always activated by using the circle button.

Firing It Up

When you first fire up BreakQuest, the first thing you’ll notice is the retro stereo music tracks, coupled with the simple yet effective graphical style. These will send you reeling for your flares and leg warmers as they really capture the mood of the era. It certainly reminded me of the gone times when gameplay mattered and you actually had to practice playing a game to get good at it.

The Modes

There are two modes available in BreakQuest, namely Quest and Arcade. Quest mode follows a campaign structure, where you play each of the game’s 100 levels in sequence. Arcade mode picks one of the aforementioned levels randomly but with different settings. Quest mode has 3 difficulty settings, imaginatively named Easy, Normal and Hard. While Arcade gives you the three from Quest mode plus Armageddon, Fast, Master, Minimal and Beginner.

Arcade mode can only be unlocked once you have collected 5 keys from the Quest mode. These keys are won by completing 5 levels within any of the Quest mode levels. Once arcade mode is unlocked, next time you load the game you can get a quick fix by firing up Arcade mode or continuing on your adventure via the Quest mode.

Selecting Your Ship

Before starting a level you need to select an appropriate ship and each comes with a particular style bumper. While playing the levels you can control your ship’s horizontal movement using either the d-pad or the analogue stick. I found the analogue stick in this situation too fast, even after adjusting the sensitivity. So throughout my time with BreakQuest I used the d-pad for movement.

I suppose BreakQuest’s gameplay can be best summarised as physics based collision response. This means that almost everything on the screen adheres to the basic laws of physics. This makes for interesting and varied gameplay, ensuring that replaying the same level is always a little bit different. The ball will not only bounce off the “bricks” but also the power-ups and other stationary and animated obstacles, seemingly wandering around the screen, just waiting to cause mayhem when you least expect it.

Apart from the usual power ups that increase or reduce the size of your bumper, BreakQuest’s power-ups change the shape, size and viscosity of your bumper, while other power-ups change the ball’s shape, size, speed and quantity. There is even a power-up that will make either the ball or your ship move along as if they were drunk.

The Gravitater

One of the best additions to the game, and I hope will now be standard fayre in this genre, is the use of a gravitater. This allows you, through the magic of the down button on the d-pad, to encourage the ball towards the bottom the screen. This has the advantage of allowing the player to have limited control over the ball’s downward trajectory.

Once you get the hang of this gameplay device, you’ll wonder why no one else did this before. It also has the added benefit of shortening the amount of time you have to wait for the ball to make its way back down to the bumper, when you only have one or two obstacles left to hit on the screen. Learning to time the gravitater just right becomes an art form.

The Levels

Each difficulty setting has 100 levels for you to pit your skills against. Levels vary from standard BreakOut or brick style levels, to more physics based levels and some levels combine the two. As the difficulty increases, so to do the number of physics based obstacles and of course the speed of the ball. Overall I enjoyed the physics based levels more because they were not only more challenging but extremely unpredictable.

Add to the levels the variety of themes and you start to break the monotony that could quite easily kick in after 50+ levels. A highlight for me personally was the space invaders level which despite being one of the more simple levels brought back some great memories. Overall BreakQuest delivers a good mix of levels in terms of both look and complexity with the hinged and spinning obstacle based levels being some of the toughest.

As I mentioned earlier the music tracks really evoke the feel of retro gaming. The tracks do get a bit repetitive if you make it to the later levels, but overall they suit the feel of the game just right.

Scores On The Doors

BreakQuest is a refreshing take on a classic theme, and if you like the games that inspired this version, you’re sure to enjoy this a lot. There’s always that incentive to play just one more level to beat your previous high score and that makes this game a great purchase for any puzzle fan.

Graphics 7/10
Audio 7/10
LevelDesign 8/10
GamePlay 8/10

Overall 7.5

BreakQuest is available from the PSN store for £2.49 in the UK, €2.99 in Europe or $2.99 in the US.