Power Drift

Technically a very nice game with a good sense of speed, but the gameplay feels unrefined. To start with, the collision detection is VERY wonky (sometimes you can pass straight through other cars, sometimes you can't) and in what could only be described as an attempt to artificially inflate the games difficulty, the way your car controls gets more and more "stiff" with each passing level.🤔
Dave Lowe's musical efforts are pretty solid but it's just the same tune played repeatedly, which grates on your nerves after a while. To top it off, when you collide with a piece of scenery, the skidding noise as your car spins out of control is horrible and sounds suspiciously similar to the skidding noise used in Hard Drivin' 🥴
Ok for a quick play here and there, but could've been so much better.

It's fast, good controls and a nice variety of scenery. The background music is a favorite of mine, as well. I like the little touches, like waving to your opponents as you pass them by. The best racer on the C64, in my opinion.

I don’ t know about this game really. The gameplay is pretty much ok, but the graphics aren’t that hot.
It does grow on you, though, but it’s not the masterpiece others seem to think.

1990 I was already with the Amiga so never saw this until now when someone mentioned this on a Pitstop II review. First I didn't like it that much, then I thought it was okay and it was maybe the 4th track that made me quit it. First few tracks you end up at positions 1 to 3 and then you suddenly get a track where you spin/crash multiple times per lap and the race ends because everyone else is already on the finish line. No thank you.

A nice enough racer, though I prefer Turbo Outrun or Turbo Charge. This one has got only one music tune repeated for the whole game, some strange collision detection (you can pass through cars?) and the difficulty curve is a bit uneven, with some easy early levels before increasing the challenge dramatically. Sense of speed is alright, graphics are colorful, but somehow I feel it's a tad bland and misses something.

This is actually the best 8-bit conversion of Powerdrift for sure, even beats the messy Amiga version in terms of gameplay.
Bought it on tape after reading the glowing review in ZZap! 64 and got hooked right away and still play the game in Vice or C64 mini. A real rush, especially in the part that ressembles a rollercoaster where roadsigns are abscent. The driving speed is very impressive, the colorful graphics are a treat and the game has a nice soundtrack to go with it. All in one load.

Also very funny are the animations of de contenders in the upper screen; a detail that got lost in the translation of other versions. And I like the fact that the driver waves at each contender he or she passes by while riding towards victory. Makes them almost seem 'alive'.

Overall one of the better games in this genre on the Commodore 64. Check out the awesome Turbo Charge from the same coder... Same gamemechanics but even better! Butler indeed is a genius...

Great fun, good sense of speed and some nice touches with driver and track selection. Much better than Outrun and no multi load! Only downside is that there is only one tune, but the gameplay makes up for it. Probably one of the best racers on the C64 that I've played - to me on a par with Buggy Boy. But I probably overplayed that one!

Proper barnstormer with a palpable feel of speed

Gameplay Video Link:
youtube.com/watch?v=6efa1kKz9n0

Technically rather impressive.

But:

The collision detection with other cars is very ropey. Sometimes you go straight through them, sometimes you don't. Which I guess is just as well since avoiding them is impossible...

The game is plain boring when played for any length of time.

The music is not so great, and there are no simultaneous SFX.

One best left to the arcade. 5/10.

Chris Butler should have converted Super Hang On, Enduro Racer and Chase HQ!

I started to play this game and it is awesome. I never thought it would happen but Sonic The Hedgehog would be proud of this game because of it's sense of speed and quality. Graphics are nice and although there is only one song in the game I feel that Power Drift is an awesome conversion.

Will write a review as I get more into the game and actually beat the 5 battles.

Excellent racer. Brilliant, fluid graphics, responsive controls and excellent playability. The music is good too, but there is only one tune... My only gripe. 9/10

My #1 favorite racing game for the C64. There are so many car-games for the C64 with horrible controls - especially when turning. THIS game gets it right! On top of that, you get awesome graphics, sound and gameplay. 10/10

Probably the best C64 racer, still playable today unlike a lot of the others

Excellent game play. Brilliant music - awesome conversion of the SEGA classic. Highly playable and really puts you in the fast lane.

The C64 version of this game is truly amazing, this is how Out Run C64 should have looked and played like. As a fan of the arcade original, it's fascinating to see how well Chris Butler managed to capture the atmosphere of the coin-op. Graphics are big, bold and beautiful, just like the sprites of the hilarious cast of contenders who try to make your life as a cart drifter a living nightmare. The overall difficulty is very low at first but rises dramatically after the fourth race, you really have to give all you got to stay on top of the pack. Gameplay is beyond reproach if it wasn't for said difficutly curve that marrs the fun a bit. If Power Drift would be a little more balanced in this regard, it would be a clear 10. 9/10.

To Turbo2Xs: If you actually bother to read zzap64 review you will LEARN that the hills without land was not intentional. "It's great shame that the effect of climbing hills is spoiled somewhat by the lack of side graphics. "

Seesh! Yourself

I remember this as one of the greatest expiriences on my C64 when I loaded it for the first time. Superb game. Best single-play racer I played, after Pitstop 2. Single-load, good graphics, funny characters, 3d sensation... And those hills and tunnels!!!

It's okay, but the gameplay is drab, feels like I'm not moving... When racing, just stuff passing by. It also is too easy to play at first, and way too tough by the 3rd or 4th race.

I don't like how each racer handles the exact same... Why bother selecting if they all race the same way??

There's no sound effects in this game, most of it is just annoying music.

Buggy Boy, plays much better! I like everything about it, more then this.

6/10

After all these years I still think this is amazing! What a conversion! Considering the technical limitations of the 64 this is graphically great and speedy!!! You must have this if you have a 64!

One of the best racers on the system. Got this as part of the otherwise dreadful Wheels Of Fire compilation (along with crappy old Chase HQ and, god help us all, Hard Drivin'), it worth worth the price on its own. Awesome game, well worth a play.

This one is a serious contender to the off-road throne, next to Buggy Boy (and quite ahead of 4x4 Off Road Racer).

Cracking game. Graphics are innovative but unspectacular, the music is odd but memorable and it plays like you wish most arcade racing games would.

My favourite racing game for C64, with immense playability, atmosphere, fun and variety of scenario. All in a simple loading! Hail to Chris Butler!

One of the best racing games of this type for the C64. Game play is fast and very smooth. Great replay value.

Nice Simple Game, technically very smooth graphics. The soundtrack was brilliant.

I really liked the way you could pick the course and the driver. That impressed me loads at the time. I remember liking the music too.

Luckily C64 had programmers like Chris Butler. He took impossible to convert arcade games and turned them into true C64 games instead of watered-down hacks posing as arcade games. Ambitious yet convincing and zippingly fast road routine and effortless playability make Power Drift a real treat.

Great classic...

Played this at the arcades the day b4 I got it from a friend the day after!!! OMFG, could it be 1 of the gr8test conversions of a racing game ever?? ME THINKS
SO!!! 9/10!!!

In reply to Underfly: The uphill part WASN'T a "flaw". Like I said in the post before your's (which you are to single minded to have read - it was part of the original arcade game!

Sheesh!

The music still is awesome, the speed great and the game fun: Just as I have previously said...

Solid 8/10

Oh I just wanted to add, I burned the music once on a CD and listened to it while driving around now THAT's a really cool feeling, I can recommand that to anyone here

The MUSIC! Man that was so great... I'll never forget that tune and the game was very playable too!

Finally... A great racer coin-op conversion. Butlers a Genius !
The game didn't really get more difficult as you progressed, I found that your traction just got worse hehehe.

Chris Butler, take a bow for restoring my faith in 64 racers! Looked the part, was well rapid and above all was great fun to play! Classic!

Very, very fast. Incredible how did they manage to achieve this. The game maybe is not so realistic but it gives a lot of fun.

Finally someone managed to remove those "everysecond" light/dark horizontal borders on the side of the road... I thought, and yes it is a good port ... I like this... 8

How did they manage to get this beauty run so fast?

Impressive conversion! The graphics is superb! Varied, colorful and fast! I like the music too. Playable and funny... But! The easy level is too easy, the hard is too hard( the killer-bends pops-up too late!), but never impossible. Great work. POWER DRIFT: Beauty scenes, powerful cars, freaky drivers... You can't stop the playing! 8/10.

It's a great C64 port, but is missing the tilting perspective - one of the most distinctive elements of the arcade version.

Kick ass!!! Maybe the best coin-op conversion ever made for C64! This game was simply midblowing when I played this on my C64 for the first time. Damn fast, looks great, sounds great and very playable! Damn! Those up- and downhills almost made me puke!

After superb C64 version Amiga Power Drift was a huge disapointment because it was virtually impossible to play. C64 Power Drift beats Amiga version hands down on playability.

P. S. Is the game really that easy? I never managed to finish it...

If it wasn't for that uphill flaw wherre the side graphics disappear ill would of given it a 10, this game is fast, easy, and quite fun for a while!

Someone mentioned that at times it seemed as if the track had left the ground - they're right! If you have ever played the arcade game you will have noticed that the gameplay can be likened to Stuntcar Racer. Kinda like a rollercoaster for cars!

+Awesome music!
+Fast Scrolling!
+Hot Blonde Chick!
+Single load
+Fun!

-Easy

Power Drift is not a bad racing game. First level was quite easy, but then the next 2 or 3 levels, it starts to get harder because the turns are a bit hard. It's not quite like Pitstop however but it still a good racing game.

I loved that long-haired blonde driver, she was the most sexy woman of my childhood! )

The entire Sega arcade game cramed into a single C64!! Now that's something ... Looks good, plays very well and it's fast!!!

A nice little racer all in a single load!

Not very well converted for C64. I like Buggy Boy more.

A worthy altenernative to pitstop 2 ;-)

I'm a sucker for racing games, and Power Drift ranks as my favourite on the C64 along with Turbo Outrun. Later on the corners get frustratingly tight, but that only adds to the challenge! Original graphics, an awesome loading tune and a lot of playability! Two thumbs up!

Although it sometimes felt like you were driving on a treadmill, this game just shows why Activision are still around today. Superb!

Fun, speedy and challenging... All these words describe Power Drift. I think it's much, much better than frustrating Hot Rod.

Good gameplay and excellent music.

Very playable, fast, cool, and smooth. Only problem is the lack of side graphics as the car travels uphill making it look like the track leaves the road. Some C64 limatation? Memory probs? Whos knows... But great game! 9/10

One of my favourite race-games. Cool tune playing and wonderful graphics. Worth a try, no question about it!

Played it a lot. Funny game but really to easy! 8/10

Control MR T from the A-Team in his toughest mission yet - racing!

Actually, it's a fantastic game. I use to love playing this. 9/10

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaast! And very enjoyable! Great fun!

One of the finest racing games to grace the C64

In my opinion too Power drift is funniest racing game on the c64

Come on, it's fun for a while, but far too easy: I completed every course and got bored after two days. Take a look at Hot Rod instead...

Good music, fun game. Very generous on the collision detection. I think the engine must be based on Space Harrier.

In my opinion, Power Drift is the best racing game on the C-64. It may not be that realistic or complex, but that's the point: It's a LOT of fun.