
	Platform PSOne Genre Racing Publisher ASCii Entertainment Developer Climax Entertainment ETA November 1997
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Felony 11-79 / Runabout

Before Crazy Taxi came along there was another series that had players completing various missions in a racing game, while wrecking havoc, and that series was Runabout. The first game in the series, released in North America as Felony 11-79, was a straightforward, entertaining romp. In a time where the racing genre was starting to shift to more serious racing fair with the first Gran Turismo just around the corner, Runabout was a an enjoyable racer in how it took such a relaxed approach. Forget about precision racing here. Runabout’s modus operandi was to navigate race tracks in the time allotted while both completing the assigned missions, and causing as much damage as possible without destroying your ride in the process.

When first starting the game, there aren’t a whole lot of choices available as to what one can do, as a lot of the really tasty bits need to be unlocked by completing the various missions. You get four vehicles to choose from in the beginning: a yellow pick-up truck with a pair of black racing stripes (which would become a symbol of the series), a rather plain-looking sedan, a quaint, little coup that looks an awful lot like a classic Austin Mini complete with the Union Jack painted on the roof, and even a tiny scooter. Players only have two tracks to choose from at the start as well.

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However, as players successfully complete all of the missions assigned on the various tracks, new vehicles and tracks will become available. In total, there are 22 vehicles in Runabout. These range from the relatively mundane like an Acura NSX, to the more unusual such as tanks and buses. Some vehicles can only be unlocked by performing

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extremely specific tasks, such as completing tracks within a certain amount of time, or causing a pre-defined amount of damage during a race.

One of the few problematic aspects of Runabout is its camera. Whenever you smash into another vehicle, or some other destructible object, the camera swings around to give you a stylized view of the smash up. Unfortunately, when this happens it becomes very difficult to see where you’re going for a short time thereafter. Moreover, there are only two possible camera positions available while driving: a first person view, and a behind the vehicle view. The latter can prove useless when driving some of the larger vehicles like the bus, as the thing is so big that it blocks out much of the camera.

Another minor gripe about the game is that it is on the short side. This is something that is easier to overlook, though, as the game is well-suited for pick-up and play sessions. Pop it in, zip around a track and smash stuff for 15-30 minutes, and enjoy. There isn’t any need for a huge time investment, as Runabout’s charm is in trying to get better at both tearing up, and tearing apart the track, doing a better job of it every time you play. It’s an opportunity to make a big, ol’ mess for half an hour, and not have to worry about cleaning it up after.

Plenty of games have improved upon the “smash things up good and fast” model set forth in Runabout, but this game deserves credit for being one of the early examples of this. It’s good, simple fun from a time when games were becoming increasingly complicated.

Mr. Nash

June 12, 2009