Battle Wheels

Are you a psycho-maniac who likes to solve your problems with an Uzi? If you answered "Yes," then you'll get a few jollies from BattleWheels, a multiplayer, freeway free-for-all for the Lynx. This shooter with a car-cockpit perspective by Beyond Games is good for some laughs, but it wears thin if you don't bring friends along for the ride.

Total CARnage

Generic story line time: It's the year 2019, and human society has regressed into a violent cyber-society ruled by technology and dangerous games of recreation. BattleWheels is a car-combat duel for up to six warriors, and you're the next contestant.

BattleWheels features a user-friendly, open-ended design that enables you to reconfigure the rules and regulations. You can play with up to five ComLynxed human friends and/or computer opponents. The CPU's skill level can also be changed.

You can even buy parts to customize your car with a modest variety of armor, suspension systems, engines, and weapons.

Loose Cannons

The game play rocks and rolls, but it doesn't wail. There are two play modes: every man for himself, and team demolition. Basically, you drive around one of 16 enclosed battle fields and blow away all opponents, gladiator-style.

You can also bail from your vehicle and stalk your opponents on foot, where you have very limited ammo and armor, but excellent maneuverability. The action is fast-paced, but repetitive. While the terrain looks good, there's very little variety in the obstacles.

Your car handles like a high-end Chevy, but it's no Porsche. The controls are responsive, and you can easily swap between forward, side, and rear views of the action. However, finding the Option 1 and Option 2 buttons in the heat of battle is a test of nerves.

BattleWheels really goes the extra mile in the graphics department. The seat-of-yer-pants perspective displays a cool-looking battlefield. The scenery looks somewhat flat, but what's there is crisp and colorful.

The sounds in BattleWheels are very realistic. Unfortunately, realistic sounds aren't always good sounds-all you hear during game play are your car's engine and the explosions of gunfire. The music is negligible. However, considering the typical tinny tunes on the Lynx, maybe this was a good choice.

Crash Dummies

This cart's a thrill a minute, but the thrills seem to run out after about half an hour. You'll get the most enjoyment beating up on friends in the multiplayer mode. After all, no matter how much you boast, brag, and taunt, you just can't humiliate the computer.

The first release from Beyond Games--a new third-party licensee with several Lynx titles under development--BattleWheels comes off like a cross between Warbirds and Battlezone. With armored Road Warrior-style cars ramming and firing upon each other in any of over a dozen different "arenas," the game allows up to six players to compete simultaneously via the system's ComLynx capabilities.

Players can jump out and chase each other around on foot if their vehicles overheat and explode; otherwise, it's a first-person view that can be switched from the windshield to the side windows or even to a rear view.