Interstate '82
Whatever the reason, one thing's for certain: Interstate '82 never grabs you by the throat and pulls you completely into its alternate universe of high-speed automotive combat the way Interstate '76 did. That doesn't mean it fails on all counts; stick with it long enough, and you'll find some pretty gratifying drivin' and shootin' action, along with a wacky plot chock-full of references to 1980s culture and politics. Unfortunately, it's a safe bet that a lot of gamers - especially ones who expected all the same gameplay elements they loved in Interstate '76 - might give up before they reach that point.
Things get off to a rocky start in, of all the places, the intro sequence. It's not at all a case of hammy voice-acting or poor writing; indeed, the entire sequence is tense and gripping, and the acting's just fine. The problem is how it looks: dark, grainy images with almost no sense of detail, and background textures that seem to swirl and bleed together. Jeez, this is a non-interactive segment - can't it look better than what we'd have seen four years ago?
Well, at least the quality's good enough that you know what's going on: Groove Champion, hero of Interstate '76, is trying to reach his sister Skye on the phone when two goons (one's got a Mohawk, so you know it's 1982!) burst in with guns pulled. Groove manages to dive out the window of his ratty trailer in the desert and make it to his ride, but before he can pull away he skids out of control and wham! - all we know is that our man "Swinger" is definitely not all right.
You play as Taurus, the smooth- talking soul brother who handled your training in Interstate '76. You have to team up with Skye to find what's happened to her brother and who's responsible. Just as in a Bond flick, you'll have to drive and fight your way not only through a steady stream of regular bad guys, but also a series of successively tougher head honchos - and of course there's a lot more on the line than the lives of Taurus, Skye, Groove, and Skeeter the mechanic (yep, he's back too).
The plot ultimately ties in covert international intrigue, Contras, and Ronald Reagan himself. It unfolds to the beat of an original DEVO soundtrack unearthed from the band's stashes. The ambience is certainly apparent, but '80s schtick isn't enough to warrant an all-new game.
The big letdown as far as I-82 goes is in how the designers chose to streamline the original's wealth of options. In an effort to make I-82 more accessible, much of the nitty-gritty of specification and weapon loadout has been removed in favor of generic customizations. While this definitely allows you to move through the setup sections fast and get right to the fighting, it weakens both the fighting and the overall game by denying fans of the original the fun of car customization.
Beyond that, I-82 just seems to emphasize the goofy more than the gritty, and loses a lot of its predecessor's punch in the process. The Las Vegas levels are intended as show-stopping set pieces, but the only reason they stop the show is to make you shake your head in disapproval at the oddball scenery. Some of the underground sewer levels and the fantastic Area 51 level show off some wonderful design, but too much of the game is spent blasting through areas that seem intent on making you moan with their cuteness. All in all, Interstate '82 just made me nostalgic for the original. Maybe it's just further proof that the eighties were a disappointment.