First off I've been quite a fan of Hi-Octane since it was released on
the PC, on that level it received ratings dependent on what type of
system you played it on. I played it on a P90 and it was very good on
that level. At that time I felt it was the best racing game on the
planet bar none, seriously.

Well the PSX version has been released and it runs a tad better on the
PSX than it does on the P90 so that's great news. It has 3 more tracks
to race on (9 total) that's great news. Control is very good (PC had
excellent control due to analog joysticks). Graphics are great but a
small notch below Wipeout. Gameplay is IMO the best of any racer made
(possibly Nascar for the PC can compare), the racing alone is excellent
and add combat into that and you have a great intense racing game. To
many hover-craft and shooting in a racing game sounds cheesy (to me it
did anyways) but let me quickly say Bullfrog didn't put combat or hover
abilities into this game to cover up a lousy racing game, no they did
it because it works out so well. Since I was one skeptikal about a
hover-combat racing game it probably took Bullfrog and the Magic Carpet
engine (MC should be released soon and should also be a wonderful PSX
game) to lure me into giving it a try and boy I made the right choice.

Back to the game.... Ok you have 9 tracks, 6 cars, 4 racing angles, 4
difficulty levels, split screen, deathmatch, clone racing (you race
against yourself), hot seat racing, gas stations, ammo power ups,
booster power ups, shield stations, ammo stations, missle upgrades and
the such.

Of the 6 cars I prefer the Semi simply because it can take a beating
and dish one out as well. The tracks IMO are the best I've ever raced,
the first track the oval is a good track to get your feet wet on, while
each track gets progressively harder from there. Artic Land the 8th
track is my favorite of the bunch. The tracks are very 3 dimensional as
there are long staights, continous sharp turns in places, caves and
canyons to jump, I can't see many people complaining here top notch.

The only negative I have for this game is slowdown when your in the
whole pack usually near the beggining of the race. If this wasn't there
this game would get a perfect score from me plain and simple. Hi-O does
bog a bit when congested but is still livable, to reduce the slowness
you can turn the sky off for a slight increase, but a more noticable
difference would be to reduce the computer players. This will help
those few spots out. My recomendation is to leave everything on though,
again this slow down usually only happens in the beggining, when your
into the heart of the race and every body is pissed off shooting. You
can come upon a large pack again but you usually find yourself and a
few other cpu racers on the screen in most combat sequances and those
play out smoothly. This is the only negative there is in this game and
it's easily outshadowed by the other positives.

Sound FX are very good, you have hovercraft sounds for your engines
that you can hear revin. Shooting sounds and explosions that are
realistic and enjoyable. A "SST" (rember these dragster we all use to
have) sound when you initiate your boosters. Explosions graphic effects
are stunning as you get streamers of firy clouds shooting out from
everywhere. The coolest part of the game is when you have a heap up in
front of you over the horizon and you see'em burnin oil into the sky.
This tells you to hurry up and get up there and polish that racer as
he's ready to blow captain!

For leading a for a whole lap after you cross the start line you get
the "Super Car" this boosts all your readings to the max along with the
famous Hi-O line of "Yahoooo!" or "Yehaaaaaaw!" both of these sayings
are in the same league as Fifa's "Ooooooooooooooh!". You'll like'em.
Also you get these great little blurts anytime you do a 180 or 360. 

At the end of the race it list you race position, average lap, best
lap, kills and deaths. It then compiles all the above and comes up with
a overall rating that ranges from "Victim" to "Immortal".

Racing tips: Start out slow and let the pack get right ahead of you.
Start popin-em them with your machine guns, once your sights lock on to
a racer they'll turn red, this tells you your missles are ready to tear
some metal, let loose on them. As you progress through your first lap
the pack will start to lossen up a bit now it's time to make your move,
hold down your booster button and let rip. As you weave in and out of
the pretenders there will probably be 2 or 3 out ahead a ways. Now you
get to do some racin and take care of your competition one on one. This
to me seems to be the best way to conquer your opposition. 

Of the racing games I've played over the past year this is how I would
rate them:

1. Hi-Octane 
Best combo of graphics, track layout, racing and combat. Mixed
reactions on the PC soley based on system performance 486 users hated
it because of choppiness while most pentium players loved it. The PSX
runs like a pentium on this game. 
2. Nascar
There are leagues for this game, this is a great sim.
3. Daytona Arcade
Well known arcade hit.
4. Ridge Racer
Fun to race, limited tracks.
5. NFS
Overall Ok, lots of fans however.
6. Road Rash
Good game after all these years.
7. Wipeout 
Great graphics and motion, lack of intensity for me, mixed reactions.
8. Slipstream 2000
Felt like I was racing through doom, icky.

Haven't played Indy Car 2, Rally and Daytona. IC2 may be a great pc
racer imo.

Final rating 9 out of 10.

This is IMO the best racer for the PSX and wouldn't be suprised if it
still is well after RRR.

BH