Speed Freaks (game)

*For the group of characters, see Speed Freaks (characters).*
**Speed Freaks** (**Speed Punks** in North America) is a kart racing video game developed for the Sony Playstation video game console by FunCom Dublin.

It was released in Europe on 15th September 1999, and in North America on 18th April 2000.

It was also re-released in 2000 as part of the Value Series line-up.

Throughout its retail lifespan, the game sold around 200,000 copies.

## Gameplay

*Speed Freaks* features several single and multiplayer modes, with an advanced physics engine that gives a realistic feel to the action. In the game, players take control of one of nine characters and drive karts around tracks with four different themes. 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/or other players, or complete a circuit in the fastest time.

Weapon boxes marked with question marks are arrayed on the race tracks; they give weapons (pick-ups) to a player's kart if the vehicle passes through them. Pick-ups, such as missiles and slime, allow racers to attack their opponents in order to overtake them. A player that obtains an invisibility pick-up is temporarily invulnerable to attack, as well as being invisible and able to steal speed boost energy from opponents. The player can store up to three of the same type of pick-up at a time.

Lines of speed boost tokens are found on the tracks. By running through these tokens, the player collects them and fills the cells on the speed boost bar. The player can use accumulated tokens to perform a speed boost for a higher rate of speed than under normal acceleration. On every track, there is a single special speed boost token, which fills the speed boost bar completely. Players can also perform a powerskidding manueuver to go through corners more effectively than with regular steering.

### Controls

#### Menu screens

* **X Button**: Accept
* **Triangle Button**: Back
* **D-Pad/Left Analog Stick**: Highlight options

#### Custom League screen

* **X Button**: Add track
* **Triangle Button**: Cancel
* **Square Button**: Erase track
* **Circle Button**: Clear league

#### Gameplay

* **X Button/Right Analog Stick Up**: Acceleration
* **Square Button/Right Analog Stick Down**: Brakes/Reverse
* **Triangle Button**: Change camera view
* **L1/R1 Button(s)**: Powerskid
* **R2 Button**: Boost
* **L2 Button**: Use pick-up
* **L2 + D-Pad Down**: Fire missile backwards (Basic Missile and Triple Basic Missile power-ups only)
* **L2 (press and hold)**: Create remote-detonated Bomb (Bomb power-up only)
* **D-Pad/Left Analog Stick**: Steering

### Gameplay Modes

#### Normal

* **Tournament**: Race in a league of four tracks on Easy, Medium or Hard. There is also an option that allows players to create their own custom league with up to five tracks of their choice. The racer with the most points by the end of a league is the winner. Placing 1st in every race in either the Easy, Medium, or Hard League gives you the right to challenge one of three unlockable characters.
* **Single Race**: A single, five-lap race at any of the unlocked tracks.
* **Time Attack**: A time-trial mode where the player can set a record on any of the unlocked tracks. A time attack session can have a 3-lap duration, or a freerun mode where he or she can run as many laps as they wanted. There is also the option of turning on a time ghost to race against in a session, as well as to activate or deactivate the speed boost and max boost tokens.
* **VS.**: A two-player battle in either a single race or a league of four races, with the option of activating or deactivating the pick-ups. The number of laps can be set up to 9.
* **Multiplayer**: *Speed Freaks* can support multi-tap peripherals, allowing for up to four players to race against each other in either a single race or a league. Of course, a multi-tap accessory is required for this mode.
* **Options**: Allows the player to set the audio, manage his/her save file, and view the track records for Time Attack.
* **Bonus**: Allows the player to access bonus features unlocked throughout the game as he/her completes the Easy, Medium, and Hard Leagues in Tournament mode.

#### Bonus

* **Challenges**: Play against any one of the three unlockable characters in a 3-lap duel.
* **Bonus Time Attack Mode**: Set a lap record in any of the twelve bonus tracks.
* **Bonus VS. Mode**: A two-to-four player race in the bonus tracks in a single race or in a league. For three- or four-player races, a multi-tap is needed.
* **Viewer**: A bonus feature where the player can view the FunCom logo FMVs, along with the FMV that is played when the game is completed, along with the credits sequence and the opening FMV.
* **Gold Wheels**: Activating this equips the player (and the opposing racers) with special golden tires that increases the speed and acceleration of your kart and theirs, with an orange light trail at higher speeds for effect. They are also usable in Time Attack and Bonus Time Attack modes. They can also be deactivated for the standard tires.

## Characters

There are nine characters to choose from in *Speed Freaks*, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, along with unique personalities. When you start playing the game, there are only six available, and the other three must be unlocked by placing 1st in all races in a league and beating the unlockable character in a three-lap race. The character design has a super-deformed, limbless kind of aesthetic to it, reminiscent of Ubisoft's *Rayman* series. This also applies to the karts that they drive, as they are depicted as consisting of four wheels, a seat and a steering wheel. In Tempest's case, his kart also has a pair of exhaust pipes.

### Starting

* Tempest
* Monty
* Brains
* Tabatha
* Monica
* Buster & Wedgie

### Unlockable

* Cosworth
* Tetsuo
* BEEMER

## Tracks

*Speed Freaks* features a total of 24 tracks. The player starts out with the four Easy tracks, but the Medium, Hard, and Bonus tracks are unlocked as he/she progresses through the game.

### Easy

* Shipwreck Shore
* Neon City
* Millennium Park
* Thunder Trail

### Medium

* Silver City
* Drift Arena
* Moonlight Cove
* Sun Valley Drive

### Hard

* Skate Park
* Gold City
* Grand Rapids
* Sunset Isle

### Bonus Easy

* Raceway 1
* City 1
* Stadium 1
* Island 1

### Bonus Medium

* City 2
* Stadium 2
* Island 2
* Raceway 2

### Bonus Hard

* Stadium 3
* City 3
* Raceway 3
* Island 3

## Regional differences (NTSC)

The North American version of the game features numerous changes and improvements from the original European version:

* Improved A.I. (Smarter)
* Harder A.I. (Racers catch up faster and are more aggressive)
* Statistics appear on-screen when you select your character
* Chances of a spin-out from excess powerskidding have been reduced
* BEEMER's Challenge is made more difficult; BEEMER uses Gold Wheels speed, even on Normal Wheels.
* Improved framerate on some of the tracks.
* The missiles create smoke trails rather than light trails.
* The voice clip at the title screen where the characters say the game's original European name is left unused but remains in the code.

## Development

*Speed Freaks* was designed and developed by the SD Team at FunCom Dublin in Ireland, and was produced by Padraig Crowley. The game was developed throughout a time period of three years from 1997, with working titles such as *SDR* (Short for *Super Deformed Racing* or *SD Racing*), and *Wheelnuts*.

The game started out as a follow-up to 1996's *Impact Racing* (also developed by FunCom Dublin), with a "batmobile-style" vehicle designed for a futuristic demo showcased to publisher Coconuts Japan Entertainment, which did not accept the look and design of the game. However, this inspired the developers to re-work the game, with an influence from Japanese-developed games. Sony was shown the game during development, saw its potential and bought Coconuts' contract. This came with a large tone shift that affected the game's development a second time, as when Sony looked at the game, they stated "We love it, but we don't want to make a Nintendo game, we want to make a Playstation game." This prompted the SD Team to make more detailed and textured environments for the game.

Originally, the characters were to have a Japanese-style anime look, but Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) had this changed, so that the characters could appeal more to Western audiences.

According to a 7th September 1999 newspaper article in *The Irish Times* about the game's producer, Padraig Crowley, he himself said that the game's graphics had a local influence in the form of Dr. Quirkey's Good Time Emporium, a video arcade that is based in Dublin.

When designing the physics model, the developers opted for a balance between realism and fun by developing a realistic physics model as a base and then modifying it to make it more enjoyable to play. As an example, the developers cited that bumping into a wall in the game results in far less of an impact than doing the same in real life.

The developers used hand-optimized assembly code for the graphics engine in order to make it fit into the small instruction cache of the PlayStation hardware. The graphics engine used both Gouraud shading and textures on polygons, and the makers believe it is only the second racing game on the PlayStation to use Gouraud shading.

The game was presented at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), along with other FunCom titles such as *The Longest Journey*, *Steel Rebellion*, and *Championship Motocross featuring Ricky Carmichael*.

When Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) acquired the rights to release the game in North America, they were originally slated to release it in 1999, but held back the release date to avoid competing with Naughty Dog's *Crash Team Racing*.

Jamiroquai's song, "*Travelling Without Moving*", was used for the opening sequence of the game. The rest of the game's music is composed by Martin Schioler of the SD Team. Schioler initially wrote J-pop-influenced tunes in the vein of *Mario Kart* for the game, which could still be heard in the levels. However, Sony wanted the soundtrack to sound more "contemporary" and "cool", so Schioler shifted focus to dance and drum and bass whilst still "trying to maintain some playfulness".

## Reception

*Speed Freaks* has received mostly positive criticism, especially with IGN giving the North American version a score of 9 out of 10.

However, Adam Pavlacka of the video game magazine, *Next Generation*, panned the game, referring to it as "A copycat game that isn't worth your time," in addition to *NextGen* giving it 2 out of 5 stars.

## Credits

### FunCom

* Producer: Padraig Crowley
* Programming: Ivar Olsen, Mark Lee, and Stephen Gallagher
* Graphics: Philip Plunkett, Lasse Louhento
* Modelling: Ed Thomas, Barry Lawless, Hans Jørgen Kjærnet
* Animation: Michael Boylan
* Concept Art: Aidan Walsh
* Sound: Martin Schioler
* Testing: Mark Comley

*NOTE: To see the complete credits, go here.*

## Gallery

### Logos

Speed Punks logoEarly SDR logoAlternate SDR logo from the Speed Freaks AlphaSD Racing logo from the Speed Freaks Alpha
### Screenshots

Tetsuo in Moonlight Cove.4-player gameplay screen.Tempest and Buster & Wedgie in Millennium Park.Monty jumps over the water in Drift Arena.Monty firing a speed boost in Shipwreck Shore.Tempest pretending to play guitar with his handsaw.Tempest drives in the water trap of Millennium Park.Tempest being overtaken by a Homing Missile in Millennium Park.Tempest using a speed boost in Sunset Isle.Buster & Wedgie in Silver City.Project SDR screenshot with unused character design, from a German gaming magazineDitto, with an early character select screen.SDR screenshot taking place at an early version of Grand Rapids
### Covers

Artwork, Multi Tap bundleDitto, higher resolutionArtwork, standaloneCover for the standalone versionMulti Tap bundle variantNorth American cover for *Speed Punks*

### Other

Multi Tap bundleWallpaper #1Wallpaper #2Main page of the official websiteSpeed Freaks (PS1) ScreensaverOfficial screensaver, featuring the official TV ad
## Audio

### Voice

 Title screen voice clip (European version only)

### Music

 Menu theme

 Menu theme (165 BPM true speed)

 Raceway tracks

 Island tracks

 Stadium tracks

 City tracks

 Challenge races

 Results

 Podium (1st Place)

 Podium (2nd Place)

 Podium (3rd Place)

 Podium (4th-6th Place)

 Completed

 Credits

## Trivia

* *Speed Freaks* was one of the first racing games on the PlayStation to feature a four-player split-screen functionality.
* It's highly likely that *Speed Freaks* was renamed *Speed Punks* for the North American release of the game, because the term "speed freak" refers to a drug addict with a habitual usage of stimulant drugs, especially amphetamines. The name-change was done to give the North American release a much less inappropriate-sounding name. However, the SD Team did not approve of this change.
* A sequel was planned for *Speed Freaks*, but it was never released, due to FunCom Dublin shutting down in 2001. This sequel was also slated to feature snow-based levels and theme park levels that would have pushed the PlayStation's limits.
* The in-game graphics were modeled and rendered by Barry Lawless in 3ds Max.
* Martin Schioler composed the game's music in a Tracker Module style.
* A sticker card of the North American version of the game was given out in a Kellogg's cereal promotion.

## External links

* Wikipedia article
* *Speed Freaks* official website (Archived)

## References

1. ↑ http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/speed-punks/
2. ↑ The Player - The Irish Times
3. ↑ Kellogg's Cereal Speed Punks Sony Playstation 1 PS1 Promo Sticker Card - ebay