It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
Interstate seriesMonth of Activision: Interstate '76 Retrospective(30 posts)(30 posts)
(30 posts)
Pages:
1
2
This is my favourite topic
Posted February 20, 2010
avatar
AlexY: Anyway, I never heard of this game. Strange, because you're all hyped for it, must have been massively popular when it was released.

I think it was like the GTA3 of its time. I know I wanted to get it because I haven't seen a game back then that promised driving + guns + racing + drive by shooting + first person view + enormously huge maps
Posted February 22, 2010
Really good write-up!
Posted February 22, 2010
avatar
soulgrindr: did the same devs work on the horrendous i82? or was that another studio? I'm hoping it was the latter, not some sudden loss of talent.

I82 was bad for different reasons. While nothing official was ever officially talked about, it was pretty clear that I82 was delayed and over their budget. This caused management to all but halt development, cut unfinished features, remove the most outrageous bugs and call it done.
The Interstate series was in many ways Zack Norman's vision. He is credited with writing Taurus' poetry, so we can assume he wrote the poem found on the last page of the manual of Interstate '82...
------
It's never too late for them to rip
Into the fruit of our labor.
Their ink tipped claws tear and shred
Leaving the juiciest of juices
to desiccate amid the dust and spilled oil of the
cold concrete garage floor.
They do it in the name of profit.
Each hiding behind the others carving into the
most succulent with the casual ease of
seasoned smiling surgeons without the vaguest taste
for the fruit they cut.
Post edited February 22, 2010 by ZaphodAVA
Posted February 23, 2010
Hey guys, I just joined the site and bought the game. I also have the original gamebox with the 2CD release. I'm an old fan ot the game. It's probably my favorite game, behind Mafia. I miss it in today's market:
Interstate '76 was the best IP from Activision. Ever. Call Of Duty may sell well, but it's got nothing on this game in terms of soul. This one lasts, COD will not. To me, COD is like fastfood (worse than that, actually), I76 is like art.
I don't understand why they haven't brought the franchise back over the last 11 years. The market wants sand-box, free-roaming games. Especially combined with online multiplayer.
Look at what GTA IV and Mafia have done with these elements. Interstate '76 had it all, way back in 1997. Activision just needs some Active Vision.
All they need to do it is a proper engine, with proper physics (for both realistic car handling and walking, ragdoll, dynamic damage to vehicles and buildings), AI (lively world with dynamic traffic/pedestrians), weather elements (rain causing mud, leaving tiretracks, affecting the driving), etcetera. A great level editor to make your own maps (like Trainz or Crysis uses). And they need good level designers to create a large, dynamic open world, instead of the relatively small maps in the old game.
Put in another good soundtrack, great voice-acting and cinematics (cinematics like Uncharted by Naughty Dog) and, of course, some poetry. With Zachary Norman and the old team onboard, it must be a recipe for success.
The time is now Activision! And don't claim you don't have the money, World Of Warcraft took care of that problem.
But it's a shame I don't have time to chat...
Post edited February 23, 2010 by I76Giotto
Posted February 23, 2010
If they made it now it'd probably be a lot less sim, and so a lot less deep. It'd just be burning around and shooting stuff. ;-)
Posted February 23, 2010
avatar
soulgrindr: If they made it now it'd probably be a lot less sim, and so a lot less deep. It'd just be burning around and shooting stuff. ;-)

Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSF_TqP9klc ?
;)
Post edited February 23, 2010 by ventsetti
Posted February 23, 2010
I will always love this game. I can't recall how I came across it...I believe it was probably back in the early days when I first got internet and downloaded demos like crazy from Happy Puppy. Once I landed this one, I was hooked.
I've always been into muscle cars and guns and, well...this game just made those things so much better!
I even started a clan, playing this online over my old school 28.8kbps modem! And it was essentially lag free, even in those days!
I was absolutely jumping out of my chair when I saw this come to GOG. Thank you SO much you guys...you've made me extremely happy. Now if you could only bring TIE Fighter Collectors CD-ROM and X-Wing Collectors CD-ROM I would be in heaven.
Plllleeeeeaaaasssseeee?
Thanks for filling the void in my soul that has been left behind by a lack of some good ol' Interstate '76 action! Now lets get some internet play going!!
Posted February 24, 2010
avatar
soulgrindr: If they made it now it'd probably be a lot less sim, and so a lot less deep. It'd just be burning around and shooting stuff. ;-)
avatar
ventsetti: Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSF_TqP9klc ?
;)

Yeah. just like that.
In the current games climate, I can't imagine them ever making a game like i76, or even like tie fighter... it all ends up like Starfighter... :-(
Posted February 24, 2010
Actually, I thought GTA IV was spot on. It was everything I wanted from a GTA title. GTA IV is what GTA 3 should have been. So it is possible in today's market.
But Rockstar has experience with those games, Activision does not. Chances are that if they do it, it will end up with a bad engine and a complete wrong focus of what the game should be like. Like I82, but with HD graphics and such bs.
But who knows. Maybe a miracle will happen at Activision.
Posted February 25, 2010
I loved this game! The dialogues and voice works were great but it's really the Arion Salazar soundtrack that transcended it all (similar to Chris Vrenna's for American McGee's Alice)
I have an amazing memory (though I can't remember if it was in I76 or I82) of me blasting down a road and reaching a cliff I was supposed to fly across... but as I was reaching the other side I saw my car starting to tilt down, I looked at my screen in horror "nooooo!!!" as the bumper hit the edge of the cliff I was convinced my car was going to fall but the angle and momentum made it do a full flip and it land on the road...I screamed shouts of joy!
On of my best video game memories ever.
Posted March 26, 2010
avatar
soulgrindr: If they made it now it'd probably be a lot less sim, and so a lot less deep. It'd just be burning around and shooting stuff. ;-)

Like I-82 you mean? ;-)
Posted March 30, 2010
I never did get to play I82. I was able to get it to install on windows xp awhile back, but it would always hang at the loading screen.
Posted June 04, 2010
avatar
I76Giotto: Hey guys, I just joined the site and bought the game. I also have the original gamebox with the 2CD release. I'm an old fan ot the game. It's probably my favorite game, behind Mafia. I miss it in today's market:
Interstate '76 was the best IP from Activision. Ever. Call Of Duty may sell well, but it's got nothing on this game in terms of soul. This one lasts, COD will not. To me, COD is like fastfood (worse than that, actually), I76 is like art.
I don't understand why they haven't brought the franchise back over the last 11 years. The market wants sand-box, free-roaming games. Especially combined with online multiplayer.
Look at what GTA IV and Mafia have done with these elements. Interstate '76 had it all, way back in 1997. Activision just needs some Active Vision.
All they need to do it is a proper engine, with proper physics (for both realistic car handling and walking, ragdoll, dynamic damage to vehicles and buildings), AI (lively world with dynamic traffic/pedestrians), weather elements (rain causing mud, leaving tiretracks, affecting the driving), etcetera. A great level editor to make your own maps (like Trainz or Crysis uses). And they need good level designers to create a large, dynamic open world, instead of the relatively small maps in the old game.
Put in another good soundtrack, great voice-acting and cinematics (cinematics like Uncharted by Naughty Dog) and, of course, some poetry. With Zachary Norman and the old team onboard, it must be a recipe for success.
The time is now Activision! And don't claim you don't have the money, World Of Warcraft took care of that problem.
But it's a shame I don't have time to chat...

I agree entirely with this post. (In fact I have the original gamebox 2CD release (with manual :D) too, it's on my shelf next to my boxed copy of Mafia! No joke.)
I'76 is a well made, deep game. Maybe too detailed for today's market - I think that if they brought it back they'd dumb it down a LOT - remove a lot of the cars, take away your ability to tinker with the armour/chassis reinforcement, maybe remove some guns too. It'd turn out a lot more paper scissors rock, arcade I think, rather than a detailed sim.
Posted September 08, 2010

I agree entirely with this post. (In fact I have the original gamebox 2CD release (with manual :D) too, it's on my shelf next to my boxed copy of Mafia! No joke.)
I'76 is a well made, deep game. Maybe too detailed for today's market - I think that if they brought it back they'd dumb it down a LOT - remove a lot of the cars, take away your ability to tinker with the armour/chassis reinforcement, maybe remove some guns too. It'd turn out a lot more paper scissors rock, arcade I think, rather than a detailed sim.

Nice to see that you and me (and others on this board) have a similar taste in quality games!
It's a shame that Mafia 2 turned out the way it did. That game was my last hope of a true good free-roaming successor to Mafia and Interstate '76. I think that proves what you say about what I76 would look like if it was released today.
But I think there is still a market for more immersive games like I76. The developers and publishers just have to find that audience, and get to know them. Communicate/interact with them. Find out what they really want and have an honest discussion about what can be achieved. Don't promise what you cannot deliver. Even worse, don't flat out lie about a game to make it sell.
In my opinion, a good example of this is Operation Flashpoint 2 - Dragon Rising. The original Operation Flashpoint (third in my top 5 of favourite games) is everything Dragon Rising is not. But still Dragon Rising was advertised like it was the best military gaming experience ever. As a result, I will never buy anything from Codemasters again.
Post edited September 08, 2010 by I76Giotto
Posted September 25, 2010
The two closest things to a remake of I'76 that I know of are Vigilante 8: Arcade for the XBox360 and Interstate Outlaws for the PC.
V8: Arcade is acutally a remake of a series that spun off of I'76, which was based in the same, alternate 1970's universe. A pretty fun game, with a distinct arcade flavor of it's own. The original was one of my favorite games for the Playstation.
Interstate Outlaws is an open-software attempt of a remake. There was a demo out a while ago, but something's happened recently, and progress has seemed to slow. Too bad, because it looked very promising.
Pages:
1
2
This is my favourite topic
Community
Interstate seriesMonth of Activision: Interstate '76 Retrospective(30 posts)(30 posts)
(30 posts)