I wrote the first review for this product a couple years ago, which was more or less a joke, thinking nobody would ever see it anyhow. However, now that a few more people have weighed in, I've decided to write a more comprehensive review of the product.
Checkered Flag is a follow up to the popular Atari Lynx game by the same title. Whereas the Lynx game used mode 7 graphics, the "64 bit" (cough, cough) power of the jag allowed for a full polygonal engine. This was an important release for Atari, as it was one of the few Jaguar games with any name value at all.
What was released to the public still stands as one of the worst racing games of all time. Virtua Racing on the 32x, or even the genesis, looks and plays better than Checkered Flag, and there is simply no excuse for that.
Like many Jaguar games, Checkered Flag lacks any form of texture mapping. The polygon counts are insanely low, many objects in the environment are nigh indistinguishable. The framerate is absolutely criminal, the game often dips to what seems to be below 10 fps, and never feels above 15. This makes the ultra-sensitive, untuned controls even worse. Navigating tight corners is almost entirely guesswork, as the game often seems to give you five frames or less to see where you are as you peel through the turn. It's possible to get somewhat of a feel for it, but if you can get through a single lap of any course without crashing at least once, then you are certainly a better man than I.
The developers seemed adamant about having the cars go 189 to 200 miles per hour, the poor framerate isn't traditional "slowdown", the cars maintain their rapid clip as the frames jerk quickly to catch up, often leaving the driver completely disoriented. The game is close to unplayable.
To make the game extra sadistic, the tournament mode requires you to do ten to fifteen laps per course. Finishing takes over an hour of painful tedium. If there is one redeeming aspect it's that the championship mode is very beatable, getting first is possible, yet quite unfulfilling. And completing the entire tournament is sure to make your hands ache and your brain numb.
I could go on, and on, and on some more, but to wrap this up, Checkered Flag is an an anti-classic for the ages. It's a shoddy, generic, ugly, unfinished, buggy, and unplayable waste of silicon. To me, there's something romantically fascinating about how bad it is, but if you own a jaguar and are looking for decent games to play, which there are a few, Checkered Flag shouldn't be anywhere on your list.

Brand	Atari
Rating	3.4 (16 ratings)
Price	$49.99
Category	Atari Jaguar

CHECKERED FLAG for ATARI JAGUAR

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