Ignition (1997)

[tinybird]

#9185

This one came to mind while after listening to a couple of racing-themed episodes recently (Death Rally, Wacky Wheels). I always played it on Windows back in the day but there’s a DOS version too. Being from 1997 it’s obviously a very late one!

This is a really fun, cartoony racing game, challenging without being too frustrating and very approachable to new players I think.

I think the graphics are really cool, it has that wibbly-wobbly software texture mapping like a Playstation game but I feel like it works with the art style. It’s all very low-poly but done very well.

The progression through the game is nice – you can unlock new cars and tracks, including silly stuff like a school bus.

The tracks have plenty of environmental hazards and shortcuts – it’s pretty fun to take a risky shortcut and come out ahead of your opponents.

Just one of those games I really liked as a kid, and it still held up the last time I played it. Anyone else a fan of this one?

https://www.mobygames.com/game/807/ignition/

[TigerQuoll]

#9188

I like that it’s a bit silly, probably quite unrealistic and has some fun and unusual mechanics and gimmicks. That’s the only way to do racing and sports games for me!

The DOS version seems a bit hard to find though. I’d imagine the version on GOG is for Windows?

[tinybird]

#9189

It seems like both DOS and Windows versions are provided on the retail disc. Not sure about the GOG version.

[taxalot]

#9190

I remember I played the demo version quite a bit and had quite a bit of fun 🙂 Isn’t the gameplay a bit like Micro Machines ?

[Niber]

#9191

I feel like games like Ignition & Fallout are Windows-games in everyones mind EVEN tho technically rarely-used DOS versions exists. So I’m not sure if games that doesn’t feel like DOS are the most suitable games to cover.

[Martli]

#9199

This is on my to play list, so I’d be keen! Another one of those games I probably would have loved at the time but for whatever reason never made it onto my PC.

There’s been a few of these Windows 95/DOS cross-overs before. I personally think it’s quite an interesting period in gaming, probably because I was about the right age for it.