Bad Driving in Video Games: Lap 2
Earlier this year, I wrote a story about three games with absolutely horrendous driving segments. Among the three titles I highlighted was Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan. At the time, I focused on the “Demolition Derby” level, as it was a blight on my childhood. After recently replaying the entire game, I realized that I was wrong. All of the driving in Ty 3 is unforgivable.
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Racing minigames
The demolition derby minigame I previously mentioned is just the first in a series of car-based challenges you need to tackle in order to progress through the story. All of them are nightmares.
There are at least two more demolition derby matches — races in which the goal isn’t to cross the finish line before you opponents, but rather to destroy them with woefully inaccurate Mario Kart-esque powerups. In between these unpleasant affairs, you’ll be forced to drive a super-fast nuclear-powered cart that’s intentionally difficult to control and complete at least two multi-lap races wherein you need to pick up several collectibles and come in first place.
Hey, at least there’s a mission later where you have to recover the nuclear cart from the bad guys before they use it as a weapon.
Overworld navigation
Making your way from task to task in Ty 3 requires taking the helm of something called the Crabmersible — a crab-shaped vehicle that scuttles across the landscape as easily as it dives to the bottom of the riverbed. On the upside, it actually handles surprisingly well. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to navigate it from point A to point B without dying.
Roadways are littered with enemies that can deal you damage. Ground-based adversaries can slap away a quarter of your health if you slow down too much, strange flower monsters can shoot you from a distance, and floating fortresses are always ready to hit you with a nasty laser. Oh, and did I mention that there are goopy landmines everywhere waiting to blast you to smithereens? The result is an overworld that’s a chore to navigate rather than a pleasure.
Don’t get me wrong: I objectively adore Ty 3. However, its driving segments are emblematic of some of the worst game design tendencies of the 2000s.
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