Hard Drivin' II: Drive Harder

Hard Drivin' II is a Racing game, developed by Tengen and published by Domark, which was released in 1991.

Not to be confused with me coin-op sequel Race Drivin, Hard Drivin II is a revision of the original simulator that’s never appeared in the arcades.

At first sight it looks almost exactly the same as HD1. Select the first track from the menu, and you’re plonked into the seat of a Ferrari F40, which actually looks more like a Lada, so you’ll have to use your imagination a bit. The track looks strangely familiar, until you realise that it actually is the same as the original HD1 track. If you still want more tracks, you can design your own with the circuit editor.

On the matter of gameplay, it’s indistinguishable from the original game. In other words, it’s very slow running on anything below an A1200, to the point where it becomes frustratingly unresponsive. There isn’t much competition in the car simulation field, but compared to its closest rival, Stunt Car Racer, HDII is far slower, more limited and loses out in the playability stakes by quite a margin. Even so, if you’ve got an accelerated machine, don’t mind putting up with a few bugs; and don’t already have the first game, Hard Drivin II could provide a pleasant distraction for a few hours.