This review was originally published on the Console Purist Facebook group on May 23rd, 2020.
Another week, another PlayStation Basement! PlayStation Basement is a weekly review of games for the original PlayStation that are somewhat obscure, unusual, or unknown. Games are rated Good, Bad, or Neutral to emphasize the review itself. Now, let’s go!
Today we explore another game that I have not gotten around to despite owning it for a bit. This game is Felony 11-79. The game was released 23 years ago on this day of May 23rd in 1997 in Japan and followed in August and December of the same year in North America and Europe respectively. In Japan, this game is known as Runabout, but everywhere else it is called by this other name. I assume that the name just sounded weird translated into English, but in Japanese, the word “hashiru” means both “to drive” and “to run”. This is just conjecture on my part, but I am guessing that the developer, Climax Entertainment (Shining Force, Landstalker, Blue Stinger), or the Japanese publisher, Yanoman, wanted an English title and incorporated their own cultural language associations into it. Anyway, even in other regions this game was followed by Runabout 2, Runabout 3: Neo Age, and Super Runabout: San Francisco. This is a series of racing games with destroyable environments akin to Burnout with some of the surreal comedy of Katamari Damacy. The story of this first title makes this game fit nicely with the recent International Museum Day that happened on the 18th as it is about a greedy grave robber who wants you, a driving mercenary like the hero of the anime Riding Bean, to obtain three artifacts for him so that he can open the tomb. It’s gonna be an interesting drive for sure.
There are three different images used for the cover art of Felony 11-79. Japan’s original version shows a car from the game with the phrase “Are you born to drive?” above a title shown on a license plate. The background is a plain black field, so this image is minimal but striking. America and Europe got a cover that would not have made me excited about buying this game had I seen it back in the 90s; it’s a car busting through a postcard of a beach. The title font and the car have a very plastic-y CG look to them. If I did see this game, I don’t remember it at all. When the game was released under the “The Best” line in Japan, it got a new cover of comic book panels showing various forms of destruction and chaos. I love the colors used here and how chaotic it looks. This is how the game should be advertised.
Unfortunately, the game most resembles the plastic-y beach-busting image that I don’t like too much. It’s a very standard-looking 3D game for PS1 with all of the flaws you expect. Texture warping, popup, objects appearing through otherwise displayed walls, it’s all here. One thing that is nice, is that the game runs smoothly for everything going on. The city maps are large and have many details. I like the colors that the creators used too, especially how the different missions will transition from daylight to sunset, for example. There is a semi-cool slow-motion effect during collisions, but I found this to be kind of jarring at times considering that it happens with any collision that causes an explosion. This game goes the same route as the more familiar Goldeneye 007 and features explosions with most destroyed objects, even flowerpots and fences. Multiple collisions with larger objects such as other cars will cause more slow-motion sequences. You will see a lot of slow-motion while playing Felony 11-79. The other problem with these slow-motion events is that the camera angle will change to make a cinematic effect. This often looks very nice, but, in tight corners, this dramatic camera motion can create additional crashes. Overall, Felony 11-79 is a decent-looking game with some highlights and some flaws.
Thankfully, the sound design is well-done. I enjoyed the surf rock soundtrack. It reminds me of artists such as Davie Allan and the Arrows, Man or Astro-Man?, and The Ventures. The production quality feels a little cheap, but I think it would sound much better through a better sound system. I used to have my TV going through a 5.1 surround system, but I haven’t been able to set it back up since I moved. Through my TV, the musick has an unpleasantness driven by what seems to be loudness created by over-compression. Again, I think I need a better system to really tell. The sound effects in the game are all fine and add to the destructive experience. I enjoyed the voice samples too, ranging from ridiculous radical-isms to dramatic worries on finishing on time. The one problem is that the voice clips are sometimes buried by the musick and engine sounds. Generally, though the sound works well to make you feel excited to get out and hit the road.
In Felony 11-79, the player has to complete an objective and get to the end of each mission within a time limit. Objectives can include things like obtaining dynamite from crates, hitting a limo to steal an artifact, or running into a phone booth to call a helicopter escape plan. This always involves hitting into an object, even when that doesn’t really make sense. Running into other objects on the way is fun but damaging to your car and fills up a damage meter at the bottom of the screen. I never destroyed my car, but I suppose you could if you crashed too many times. The more damaging effect of crashing is that it can seriously slow you down. You can run out of fuel too, though that also never happened to me. You can even sink into water if you fall into a pool or something, instantly ending your mission. The big thing here is playing each mission a few times to get the layout of the road, figuring out what roads have major obstacle son them, learning how to dodge those obstacles, and making sure you can get to the end in time. It’s especially fun to find secret paths through caves or subways to speed up the process. Choosing the correct car of the 20 available (including 16 unlockable cars), and correctly tuning that car to the mission, is a major part of this too. Cars range from the one you see on the cover art to a moped and a bus. There is some really wild stuff to choose from.
Felony 11-79 is a fun game. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s not too long at only three missions, but there are more unlockable cars and missions. It’s fun to see the chaotic messes that you can create smashing through shopping arcades and causing people to scatter. The more expensive stuff you destroy and the quicker you finish each mission also determines your score at the end, so high score seekers have something to try for too. Check out Felony 11-79 if you get the chance.
Felony 11-79 receives a Good.
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