Bunny Abandonware » Race the Nags

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8 January 2007

Race the Nags

in Arcade, 1993 — bunnzy

Now this’ll take you back. Well, I was 13 at the time, so it’s not _that_ long ago (honestly). Nags is a brilliant game, full of fun, originality and superb game play. This is quite appropriate, as the Melbourne Cup was on yesterday!

The concept is simple. You have 6 horses in a race; you place a bet, watch the race, collect the winnings and then rinse and repeat. So you’re thinking it gets a tad monotonous? You’re wrong, it goes deeper. Like at your local T.A.B you can bet on a win, place or show. Your winnings depend on both the odds and what position you placed a bet for. Win enough and you get to be in the big money earning score board. The nags themselves have the most interesting names - just like real horse racing - and they build up statistics so you can view information about the individual horses.

Multiplayer! Because there are six horses, you and up to five other people can play together. Each player picks a horse, places a bet and then you all watch the race then beat on the winner (or loser, depending on what kind of friend you are). Gaming with friends, what could possibly be any better?

The graphics are a bit of a let down. It’s got good VGA colour, but for a 1993 game it’s very simplistic. Graphics obviously had a lower priority than game play and originality. Which is a good thing, as it’s a trend you see in classic games: game play > graphics!

Oh, don’t forget the PC speaker sounds; we can’t forget the PC speaker sounds. I cranked this up and it nearly blasted my room away!

P.S. If you like this game, get a copy of Harvest Moon and go horse racing.