Future Racer

Future Racer is a Budget Mech Suit Racing game published by Midas Interactive in 2002. (Defeat Lightning is it's Japanese release name)

It is an arcade style racing game with a story element to give you a reason to play. For a budget game it isn't that bad. For each race you perform a qualifier that effects your starting position. Then its onto the race. For each race you need to finish at least 2nd (or 3rd in first race) to proceed, but you also need to score high. What is different to any other racing game is that when you slow down, or stop due to hitting a wall or something, the other racers do not just shoot off into the distance. They will hang around giving you a chance.

Each Mech has an energy bar and Armour. Armour is depleted by crashing or by being hit and energy is used up if you use the power punch which also makes you unable to steer while it is in action. What I didn't realise at the start of the game is that using your powers costs you points! so that is something to keep in mind if you try to destroy the other racers.

Also at certain points on the track you can collect Bonus Balls which will award more points if you can get them to the next checkpoint. You can fight other mechs for them if they get them first. While you have them, you can access another power which hopefully pushes any enemies away from you but it costs a lot of energy. You do have a normal left/right melee attach that does not cost energy and the last ability is Boost which allows you to race of at speed after it has charged.

At the end I do try to destroy my opponents, but I do not think I have to and just needed to reach the finish line.