2000 · Racing

Speed Devils: Online Racing

Sega exclusive

Speed Devils: Online Racing is an updated version of Speed Devils that reuses the tracks and cars from the original game, adds new ones, and puts them into completely new modes with a focus on online multiplayer.

Released: 13 December 2000
Platforms: Dreamcast
Genres: Racing
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Age ratings: ESRB E

About

Speed Busters (known in North America as Speed Busters: American Highways) is a video game developed by Ubisoft's Montreal studio for Microsoft Windows in 1998. It was released for the Dreamcast in 1999 as Speed Devils. This racing game features courses with hazards such as dinosaurs, rolling boulders, and UFOs set in exotic locales, including Louisiana, Louisiana Tornado, New York City, New York City Winter, Mexico, Nevada, Aspen Summer, Aspen Winter, Canada (supposedly northern Quebec), Canada Light Winter, Canada Heavy Winter, Montreal Industrial, Hollywood, and Hollywood Disaster. The console version's career mode allows players to advance through the ranks of a fictional racing league.

Colorful rivals challenge players to accomplish specific feats during races, placing bets using prize money earned from competitions. The money earned from gambling and performance is used to purchase cars, upgrade them, and maintain them. The game also supports up to five players on a single Dreamcast console.

Keywords

online

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Reception

Speed Busters: American Highways and Speed Devils received favorable reviews, while the mobile version of the latter received mixed reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. GameRevolution reviewed the Dreamcast version, stating, "At the finish line, Speed Devils is an above-average racer, but not much more." The reviewer noted that the game featured good graphics and appealing cars but suffered from poorly designed tracks, leaving players wondering how they managed to drive off a cliff without noticing it. The article also criticized the game's two-player mode for being boring and drawn out.

Edge rated the same console version seven out of ten, stating, "While not outstanding in any particular regard, Speed Devils is good entertainment that should captivate anyone tired of realistic racers with its accessible and player-friendly arcade-like nature." Chris Charla of NextGen described the same console version as "the best racing game you can find on Dreamcast today." In Japan, where the same console version was released on November 18, 1999, Famitsu awarded it a score of 29 out of 40.