Driller Engine Grand Prix (1992 video game)

Driller Engine Grand Prix (ドリラーエンジングランドプリ) is a 1992 go-kart racing game developed by Drillimation Studios and published by Namco for the arcades in the spring of 1992. The game was then released for the home consoles later that year. It is the first game in Drillimation's Driller Engine Grand Prix series.

Plot
Somewhere on Team Ankoku's secret base on the moon, Dr. Manhole thinks of a plot to hold the main Drillimation heroes captive. After Leopold Slikk, Wataru Hoshi, Konata Izumi, and Susumu Hori hear the news about Dr. Manhole attempting to capturing them, Susumu strongly disagrees and challenges Team Ankoku to a game of Mario Kart to win back their freedom.

Gameplay
Driller Engine Grand Prix is a kart racing game featuring several single and multiplayer modes. During the game, players take control of one of sixteen Drillimation characters and drive karts around tracks with a Drillimation theme. In order for them to begin driving, Nanako Kuroi will come in with the traffic light hanging on a fishing pole, which starts the countdown. When the light turns green, the race or battle officially begins. During a race, the player's viewpoint is from behind his or her kart. The goal of the game is to either finish a race ahead of other racers, who are controlled by the computer and other players, or complete a circuit in the fastest time. There is also a battle mode in which the aim is to attack the karts of the other human players.

Boxes marked with question marks (called item boxes) are arrayed on the race tracks; they give special abilities (power-ups) to a player's kart if the vehicle passes over them. Power-ups, such as the ability to throw shells and bananas, allow racers to hit others with the objects, causing them to spin and lose control. A kart that obtains the Lucky Star power-up is temporarily invulnerable to attack. Computer players have specific special powers associated with each character, that they are able to use throughout the race. Lines of air canisters are found on the tracks in competitive race modes. By running over these canisters, a kart collects them and increases its top speed. Having air also helps players when their kart is hit by another: instead of spinning and losing control, they lose air. Air is also lost when karts are struck by power-ups or fall off the tracks.

The game features advanced maneuvers such as power sliding and hopping. Power sliding allows a kart to maintain its speed while turning, although executing the maneuver for too long causes the kart to spin. Hopping helps a kart execute tighter turns: the kart makes a short hop and turns in the air, speeding off in the new direction when it lands. Reviewers praised Driller Engine Grand Prix ' s gameplay, describing the battle mode as "addictive" and the single player gameplay as "incredible". IGN stated that the gameplay mechanics defined the genre.