Hard Drivin' II: Drive Harder

Released: Late 1990
Published by: Domark
Developed by: Domark
Author(s): Juergen Friedrich, Lloyd Baker, Richard Browne, John Kavanagh

Introduction

Hard Drivin' II expanded on the original Hard Drivin' with an extra four tracks, a track editor (run from a separate executable file), plus a two-player link up option. Unfortunately, the core issue from the earlier game remained unchanged - poor driving controls. Ironic, since the arcade achieved almost cult status because of the realistic feeling of driving with its racing bucket seats, steering wheel and pedals, with force feedback.

The new tracks are well laid-out, but offer nothing new in terms of graphics scenery. The game engine is the same as the original, just tweaked to fix some glaring bugs from the original, like seeing other vehicles through the track/ground when going downhill.

Much like Hard Drivin', the whole experience comes across as more of a technology demo than a cohesive game or simulation. The fact you cannot edit/create a new track from within the game once loaded, or even change between tracks, shows this. Even pressing ESC, the almost-universal key to stop playing and return to the menu just dumps you back to the DOS prompt.

The system requirements are low, though running on at least a 386SX is preferable, as frame rates [while better than Hard Drivin'] become a real issue that compound the difficulty with the controls.

System Requirements

System Requirements	Intel 8088/8086 CPU, 512 KB of RAM. Graphics support: Hercules, Tandy/PCjr, CGA and EGA. Audio support: PC speaker only. Peripheral support: Keyboard, mouse or joystick.
Original Media	One 3.5" 720 KB (DS/DD) floppy disk.
Installed Size (MB)	427 KB

From where can it be run?

Hard Drivin' II can be run from the floppy disk or copied to your hard disk.

 

Copy Protection

The game has no copy protection.

 

How to Setup

There is no configuration or installation program for Hard Drivin' II. Just run HD2.EXE and select the graphics mode you wish the game to use:

If you want to create or edit your own track, run EDIT.EXE.

 

Problems

No issues found in playing this game.

Keys

Use the arrow keys to accelerate, decelerate and steer, with SPACE to brake.
For manual gears, use keys 1-4 to select the gear.

 

To Quit the Game

Press ESC at any time to return to DOS.

 

Supporting Documents

 

Save Games

The game has no facility to save your progress.

 

Versions of the game known to exist

Version	Date	Comments
1.0	1990	Initial public release.

Original Floppy Disk Contents

The floppy disks have no specific volume label. Here are each disk's contents:

Disk 1 of 1 (3.5" 720 KB DS/DD floppy):   Directory of A:\ FILES <DIR> 23-06-2008 18:03 EDIT EXE 68,828 13-10-1991 14:14 HD2 EXE 60,870 13-10-1991 14:21 2 File(s) 129,698 Bytes Directory of A:\FILES CUP SHA 824 11-12-1989 16:08 EXPL1 SHA 704 11-12-1989 16:08 EXPL2 SHA 824 11-12-1989 16:08 EXPL3 SHA 864 11-12-1989 16:08 EXPL4 SHA 1,324 11-12-1989 16:08 EXPL5 SHA 1,424 11-12-1989 16:08 EXPL6 SHA 1,824 11-12-1989 16:08 HD2 EXE 63,913 17-01-1991 13:28 ICONS CPX 7,824 16-12-1990 23:06 ICONS EPX 7,924 16-12-1990 23:06 ICONS VPX 7,949 16-12-1990 18:45 LIST_A 4,586 22-08-1997 12:58 LIST_B 4,586 16-08-1997 21:21 LOADING CPX 16,005 16-12-1990 20:12 LOADING EPX 18,871 16-12-1990 20:06 LOADING VPX 21,524 16-12-1990 19:11 LOGO SHA 3,264 11-12-1989 16:08 MNT01 SHA 344 11-12-1989 18:17 MNT02 SHA 992 11-12-1989 18:17 MNT03 SHA 1,080 11-12-1989 18:17 MNT04 SHA 1,648 11-12-1989 18:17 MNT05 SHA 1,480 11-12-1989 18:17 MNT06 SHA 904 11-12-1989 18:17 MNT07 SHA 2,072 11-12-1989 18:17 MNT08 SHA 696 11-12-1989 18:17 MNT09 SHA 1,344 11-12-1989 18:17 MNT10 SHA 144 11-12-1989 18:17 OBJECTS DAT 21,922 28-11-1990 15:47 PANEL CPX 11,915 16-12-1989 18:13 PANEL EPX 12,012 17-12-1989 13:33 PANEL VPX 12,310 16-12-1989 22:40 REDFLAG SHA 354 11-12-1989 16:08 SELECT CPX 5,730 16-12-1989 21:17 SELECT EPX 6,113 16-12-1989 21:17 SELECT VPX 6,261 16-12-1989 22:12 SET1 EGA 55 06-12-1989 13:17 SET2 EGA 690 07-12-1989 21:17 SET3 EGA 600 06-12-1989 13:16 SND PIN 2,494 17-12-1989 13:00 TESTFILE 1 26-11-1990 9:42 TRACK_A DAT 13,198 12-01-1991 15:24 TRACK_B DAT 11,614 16-01-1991 8:36 TRACK_C DAT 13,184 16-01-1991 8:25 TRACK_D DAT 13,198 14-01-1991 21:08 YELFLAG SHA 354 11-12-1989 16:08 45 File(s) 306,943 Bytes

 

Installed Directory Contents

Once installed, the following directory structure exists in the game directory:

Directory of C:\GAMES\HARD FILES <DIR> 08-02-2025 16:37 HARD EXE 53,878 03-04-1991 23:10 1 File(s) 53,878 Bytes Directory of C:\GAMES\HARD\FILES CUP SHA 824 15-01-1990 1:23 EXPL1 SHA 704 15-01-1990 1:23 EXPL2 SHA 824 15-01-1990 1:23 EXPL3 SHA 864 15-01-1990 1:23 EXPL4 SHA 1,324 15-01-1990 1:23 EXPL5 SHA 1,424 15-01-1990 1:23 EXPL6 SHA 1,824 15-01-1990 1:23 LOADING CPX 12,748 15-01-1990 1:23 LOADING EPX 15,458 15-01-1990 1:23 LOADING VPX 21,789 15-01-1990 1:23 LOGO SHA 3,264 15-01-1990 1:23 MAP CPX 4,941 15-01-1990 1:23 MAP EPX 5,215 15-01-1990 1:23 MAP VPX 5,290 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT01 SHA 344 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT02 SHA 992 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT03 SHA 1,080 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT04 SHA 1,648 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT05 SHA 1,480 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT06 SHA 904 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT07 SHA 2,072 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT08 SHA 696 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT09 SHA 1,344 15-01-1990 1:23 MNT10 SHA 144 15-01-1990 1:23 OBJECTS DAT 21,272 15-01-1990 1:23 PANEL CPX 11,915 15-01-1990 1:23 PANEL EPX 12,012 15-01-1990 1:23 PANEL VPX 12,310 15-01-1990 1:23 REDFLAG SHA 354 15-01-1990 1:23 SELECT CPX 5,730 15-01-1990 1:23 SELECT EPX 6,113 15-01-1990 1:23 SELECT VPX 6,261 15-01-1990 1:23 SET1 EGA 55 15-01-1990 1:23 SET2 EGA 690 15-01-1990 1:23 SET3 EGA 600 15-01-1990 1:23 SND PIN 2,494 15-01-1990 1:23 TRACK DAT 11,996 15-01-1990 1:23 YELFLAG SHA 354 15-01-1990 1:23 38 File(s) 179,353 Bytes

 

Game Review

Hard Drivin' II: Driver Harder was Domark's attempt to improve upon the fundamentally flawed Hard Drivin'. While they did fix a number of bugs, they failed to correct the biggest flaw in the original - the controls/physics. Instead they opted to do little more than bolt on 4 additional tracks and provide a track editor (probably after seeing what 4D Sports Driving had). There was no improvement in graphics or sound, and even the title screen and overall interface remained the same as in Hard Drivin'. They did add a 'link' feature so you could connect up two PCs, or a PC and an Amiga or Atari ST to have two players compete on the same track.

They really shouldn't have bothered - what's the point when you still have such little ability to control your car? Does practice make perfect in this case? Not much - I haven't tried, but I reckon if you played this straight for 2 or 3 hours, you wouldn't be crashing so often, but it would be a huge exercise in patience and self-control. Most importantly, it probably wouldn't be fun - no, it's too frustrating to be a fun game. I love games that provide a challenge; that reward your perseverance, but this game is paper-thin in its depth (quite ironic for a 3D game) - if you went straight to the most difficult or fastest car and crash, that's understandable, and you might choose a simpler, slower car to learn on. But there are no other cars in HD2. There are 3 difficulty levels: Easy, Medium and Hard, but I couldn't deduce the difference between them.

The additional four tracks on top of Hard Drivin's original one are welcome, but even though the track layouts are good there are no new scenery objects to give it a different feel. You also need to exit to DOS and reload the game to change between them. The track editor isn't even in the main game - you run it separately by executing the file EDIT.EXE. The opening screen is text-only before you reach the fairly nice graphical title screen. All of these things culminate into a game that lacks cohesion and confirms that all of its new bits were bolted onto the original game.

Hard Drivin' II: Drive Harder seems to be yet another example of a hastily put-together, bug-fixed cash-grab that tries to continue to lean on its amazing arcade roots. - the reviews at the time should be taken with a huge pinch of salt: The One at the time gave HD2 a massive 86% overall score, stating "Even if you own Hard Drivin', Driver Harder in CGA, EGA or VGA with Adlib support and four extra tracks thrown in, is worth the investment." Umm, no it's not. It's about 90% the same as Hard Drivin', and I don't wish to repeat myself [but will anyway], the terrible physics and control mechanism make this sequel just as appalling as the first game. What they needed to do was completely fix the original to make it a viable contender against 4D Sports Driving / Stunts, who pretty much knocked it out of the park on their first try (aside from the "stretched" 3D cars).