R.C. Pro-Am is one of the best titles in the NES library developed by Rare. The game uses the view from above instead of the first view as the previous racing games. This has brought a new and exciting experience for players who love the racing game genre. The task of the player is to control his car with a joystick to beat 3 other opponents on the track. Each racer will drive their car to participate in 24 race tracks to find the champion. To gain the right to continue in the race, the player will have to control his vehicle in the top 3 of the 4 vehicles present on the track. If the player is at the bottom of the standings after around, they can restart the previous race. However, their accumulated points will be lost and only has 2 restarts of the race. After finishing, the winner will receive a trophy such as “High Score Trophies” and “Super Trophy” depending on the number of points was accumulate.
In each race, players will collect some items by crashing into them. Some items are very useful, giving equipment capabilities, such as increasing engine performance, installing extra weapons and protective armour. Performance boosters are turbo accelerators, engine warmers that increase speed limits and super tires to help stabilize vehicles at turns. Players can also collect weapons like rockets and bombs to attacks or temporarily disable the opponent’s vehicles. In addition, racers can also pick up vehicle protection equipment such as Roll Cages – equipment that helps prevent damage to cars and Zippers – which helps the vehicle to increase its speed in a short period of time. For every track, oil stains and weather effects are the biggest hurdles for riders. Oil stains change the motion of the car, causing the player to lose control when passing them. Weather like storm and wind will damage the vehicle and reduce the accuracy of the weapons. If the player uses a weapon multiple times during the race, the speed of the vehicle will increase to 127 mph which destabilizes the vehicle.
Players on the Sega Genesis version will have some differences from the NES version. On the Sega Genesis version, each competitor will join the race with 5 other instead of 3 like the NES. However, they still have to be in the top 3 to have the right to go forward. When starting the game, players need to enter their name to complete the profile before joining the race. Proficient control of your vehicle will help the player to win 24 races to become the champion in R.C. Pro-Am.
