Wacky Wheels was a racing game for MS-DOS that got released in 1994. Seeing as it was released roughly a year after Super Mario Kart hit the Super Nintendo in the west, Wacky Wheels can easily be seen as Microsoft’s answer to the popular console racing game. And to be perfectly honest, there are many similarities between the two. Both feature characters in little go-karts (although Wacky Wheels refer to them as lawn mowers), both have a battle mode, and both feature weapons you can pick up and shoot at your opponents.
They even both have a dopey fish
Despite basically being a Mario Kart clone for the PC, it’s a very satisfying game to play. The controls are solid, the game is fun and fast paced, and the music is pretty bitchin’.
You pick your racer, where you get to chose between eight different animals.
I want to know how they got that shark in there.
You pick your mode and kart speed, then start racing. You’ll probably notice the pickups fairly quickly; bombs, gasoline cans, oil cans, and… hedgehogs?
Yes, hedgehogs.
Where coins are the most common type of pickup in SMK, in WW, you’ll be running over hedgehogs left and right. And where common sense would make you avoid running your wheels over those prickly little things, WW wants you to run them over and shoot at your opponents. Each hedgehog has its own little animation, like playing with a ball, sweeping, reading the paper, playing with a yo-yo, sitting on the toilet or wearing a trench coat and flashing people.
Also, the devil is in the game.
…
I am not even kidding. You can antagonise your fellow racers in multiplayer mode by sending the devil after them, or make him show them his ass by pressing… some key I can’t remember anymore, but I remember my brother and I doing it to each other all the time when we played this game.
If you like Mario Kart, but are a bit tired of driving around with the same old Nintendo characters all the time or want a go-kart driving game with a little more attitude, load up your DOS emulator and give this game a try. You can find the free shareware version on Apogee’s official site, where you can also find a link to buy the full version.
If shooting hedgehogs at pandas riding around on lawn mowers is wrong, then I don’t wanna be right.
Also, shooting fake ducks.
