Classic 1989 racing game Vette! gets an unofficial Amiga port

The Commodore Amiga has a new racing game, and it’s one from an unexpected corner of PC gaming history. Vette!, the San Francisco street racer originally released for MS-DOS in 1989, has received an unofficial Amiga conversion based on its 1991 Macintosh edition. Players can get behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette, race against European sports cars and tear through a sizeable recreation of San Francisco, choosing their own routes instead of following a fixed racing circuit. It’s a rather different proposition from your usual racing game.

A Corvette, a city and plenty of open roads

Developed by Sphere and published by Spectrum HoloByte, Vette! first appeared on DOS computers in 1989, followed by a Macintosh release in 1991 and a Japanese PC-98 edition in 1993. Its central attraction was the Chevrolet C4 Corvette, the American sports car produced throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s. Players take control of the Corvette and compete against European performance cars in races stretching across San Francisco.

The game doesn’t confine drivers to a conventional racing circuit. Instead, it provides a three-dimensional recreation of the city, complete with streets, intersections, traffic and recognisable landmarks.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf and Lombard Street are among the locations represented in the game. San Francisco’s steep roads and complicated street layout give drivers several possible routes between the starting line and the finish.

You can stick to the main roads or take a shortcut through smaller streets. Either way, reaching the finish line first is the objective. It’s street racing with a considerable amount of freedom for a game released in 1989.

Four races across San Francisco

The Amiga conversion includes the four single-player courses featured in the original Macintosh version. Players can race from the zoo to Vista Point, compete between the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge, or tackle the return route to the zoo. A fourth, longer course combines the three sections into an extended race across the city.

Each event has a defined starting point and destination, but you’re free to choose the streets connecting them. Traffic can interrupt a promising route, and taking the shortest road isn’t necessarily the quickest way to reach the finish. There are three difficulty settings: Trainee, Rookie and Pro.

Your chosen setting affects vehicle damage, traction, police activity and other driving conditions. Players can select automatic or manual transmission, switch between camera views and use cruise control. Vehicle damage plays a part in the racing, too. Collisions can leave the Corvette needing attention, with petrol stations providing an opportunity to arrange repairs before continuing.

Traffic and police add to the challenge

Vette! isn’t limited to a competition between two sports cars. The city has its own traffic, and drivers must deal with other vehicles, intersections and pedestrians during each race. Police vehicles introduce another complication, particularly at higher difficulty settings.

The game’s three-dimensional graphics use relatively simple shapes and textures to represent the city, with buildings, roads and landmarks providing reference points during a race. Cars are recognisable from their basic shapes, and the racing action concentrates on driving through the city rather than presenting the detailed vehicle models associated with more recent racing games. The open street network remains one of the game’s main features. With several possible routes available, players can approach the same race differently on successive attempts.

What’s included in the Amiga conversion?

The new Amiga edition draws on the 1991 Macintosh release, retaining its original single-player content, city layout and driving mechanics. The conversion keeps the original graphical presentation rather than introducing a redesigned racing engine or new visual assets. The four courses, three difficulty settings, vehicle damage and driving options are included.

Keyboard controls cover acceleration, braking, steering and gear changes. Players can switch between camera perspectives and select different transmission settings. There is one omission worth mentioning. The original Macintosh edition supported network multiplayer racing, but the Amiga conversion doesn’t include this feature. The current release concentrates on the single-player game.

What Amiga do you need?

You need an Amiga with a 68020 or better; 68030 or better and AGA recommended. The game uses WHDLoad and requires the original Macintosh version of Vette! for installation. The Amiga package doesn’t contain the original commercial game files, so players need to supply those separately. The conversion brings the Macintosh edition’s four racing courses to the Amiga, complete with the Corvette, San Francisco street network, traffic and police vehicles.

For Amiga owners interested in racing games, Vette! offers something different from the usual circuit-based competition: a city to drive through, several roads to the finish line and a Chevrolet Corvette waiting at the starting point.

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