Club Drive

Club Drive is a 1994 racing simulation video game developed and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar. The premise takes place in 2098 at the Club Drive amusement park, where driving became legalized after being deemed illegal for safety reasons years prior due to the invention of indestructible vehicles which allowed the ban to be lifted. Gameplay consists of three modes for one or two players, each with their own adjustable ruleset.

Club Drive was one of the first games unveiled for Jaguar, being conceived by lead programmer Todd Powers. Atari did not know how to market the game's concept, and pushed Powers into making it a more serious racing title. It was touted to feature online multiplayer via the Jaguar Voice Modem, but the unit was delayed and later canceled in 1995, thus being released with the online support omitted.

Club Drive garnered generally unfavorable reception; some critics commended the ability to explore within the environments, but others felt divided regarding the audio and two-player mode, while criticism was geared towards aspects such as the visuals and gameplay. By 1995, the game had sold 13,994 copies. Retrospective commentary for has been mixed, and has been cited as one of the worst video games of all time.

Gameplay
Club Drive is a racing simulation game, described as a cross between Hard Drivin' and Micro Machines. The premise takes place in 2098 where the Club Drive theme park was inaugurated to the public, after driving was legalized after being banned 50 years ago due to safety concerns until doctor Lawrence Phosphorus created fail-safe mathematic algorithms that could be applied into making indestructible driving vehicles. Gameplay consists of three modes for one or two players, each with their own adjustable ruleset: Collect, Racing, and Tag.

Collect is a score-based mode where power balls that are randomly scattered on the playfield must be captured, where victory is awarded to the first player to reach a specific number of power balls collected. Racing is a race mode where players must cross a number of lap checkpoints to achieve the fastest time possible. Tag, as the name implies, is a playground-style mode where players are chasing each other in an attempt to "tag" a rival before the time expires in order to win. There are four selectable areas: Velocity Park, San Francisco, the Old West, and Jerome's Pad. Each area has two distinct arenas, with one for Racing mode and a smaller one for Collect and Tag modes respectively.

During gameplay, the player can drive anywhere and explore each areas to uncover hidden locations. The players can alternate between six camera views, change music on the vehicle's radio, or rewind at one point in time. The players can also adjust the vehicle's color and speed at the options menu.

Development and release
Club Drive was developed in-house by Atari Corporation, being co-produced by Craig Suko and James "Purple" Hampton. The game was conceived by lead programmer Todd Powers, with Eric Ginner and Eric Smith providing additional programming support. It was Ginner's last game at Atari before leaving to join Bitmasters, a game company formed by former Atari Games employees Dave O'Riva and Franz Lanzinger. Ed Pearson led the team of animators that also comprised B.J. West, Jeffrey Gatrall, and Ken Saunders, with West being responsible for creating the dashboard artwork. The soundtrack was composed by director James Grunke, Jerry Gerber, Michael Stevens, and R. Wiley Evans. West recalled Atari did not know how to market the game's concept and pushed Powers into making it a more serious racing title. It was planned to feature online multiplayer via the Jaguar Voice Modem by Phylon, Inc.,  but the unit was delayed and eventually canceled in 1995, thus the game was released with the online support omitted, although the feature was available to play during focus group sessions hosted at Viveros and Associates prior to launch in September 1994.

Club Drive was unveiled as one of the first games for Atari Jaguar at a press conference held by Atari Corporation in August 1993. The game was first showcased at the 1994 Summer Consumer Electronics Show, and was also featured at the London Planetarium. During presentation at the planetarium, the gaming press and attendees laughed at the game, which infuriated then-Atari marketing manager Darryl Still. It was first published in North America in November 1994, and later in Europe in December. Mumin Corporation also published the game in Japan on March 24, 1995. A spiritual follow-up titled Automaniacs was planned for the Jaguar by Visual Dimensions 3D and announced at JagFest '97, a show dedicated to the Jaguar scene, but was never released. In 2008, the hobbyist community Jaguar Sector II released the game's source code in its Jaguar Source Code Collection. In 2022, Club Drive was included in the Atari 50 compilation for Windows, the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, marking its first re-release.

Reception
Club Drive garnered generally unfavorable reception from critics. Internal documentation from Atari Corporation showed that the game had sold 13,994 copies by April 1, 1995. Computer and Video Games' Eddy Lawrence and Mark Patterson commended its graphical department but criticized its jerky framerate and vacuous gameplay. GameFan's three reviewers found the ability to drive and explore anywhere within the different environments to be its strongest feature, but faulted the game's limited play mechanics, blocky graphics, and controls. Joypad's Nini Nourdine found the vehicle easy to control but noted the limited split-screen view in multiplayer, and heavily criticized the game's buggy 3D visuals and soundscapes.

Game Players lambasted the poorly shaded polygonal visuals and stated that the split-screen two player mode further exacerbated the issue. MAN!AC's Martin Gaksch found Club Drive moderately innovative due to the ability to drive in any direction across the playfield, and highlighted its varied courses and game modes, but felt that the Jaguar had more to offer graphically and disliked its music, and noted that the controls take time getting used to. Mega Fun's Martin Weidner found the idea of the game to be nice, but lambasted its unrefined controls and underdeveloped level design. Ultimate Future Games commended its ideas and polygon visuals, but criticized the dull gameplay and sound.

VideoGames regarded it as an "extremely weak attempt at Hard Drivin' for the home", criticizing its chunky graphics, audio, and unbearable controls. GamePro's described Club Drive as an "unusual experience" compared to other contemporary racing simulators, but criticized it for its repetitive gameplay and "unfulfilled potential". Next Generation was outright critical, lambasting its sluggish framerate, cumbersome physics, and tepid gameplay, describing it as to be "avoided at all costs". An editor of German publication ST-Computer criticized the visuals but stated that playing the game is fun.

Play Times Stephan Girlich panned the game's low-detail graphics and poor audio, while Video Games Wolfgang Schaedle noted the sensitive controls and faulted its gameplay. Super Game Power commended its multiplayer mode, but noted that the graphics were not the game's strongest aspect, while Digital Press' Edward Villalpando had mixed opinions on the gameplay. Atari Gaming Headquarters' Keita Iida found the flat-shaded polygonal visuals to be neat, but panned its choppy framerate, sluggish controls, and overall execution of the two-player mode. In 1995, VideoGames named it one of the worst games of 1994. In 1997, Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked Club Drive number 6 on their "Top 10 Worst Games of All Time".

Retrospective coverage
Retrospective commentary for Club Drive has been mixed. The Atari Times' Jess LaFleur criticized its blocky polygonal graphics, cheesy music, and sound effects, but still found it to be an occasionally fun game. Author Andy Slaven labelled it as an awful racing game, lambasting its plain visuals, poor track design, sloppy controls, and soundtrack. Writer Seanbaby placed it as number 2 in his "20 worst games of all time" feature. Nils of the German website neXGam called it "perhaps the worst Jaguar game ever". Reviewing the Nintendo Switch version of Atari 50, IGN's Samuel Claiborn stated that "it's a pretty remarkable tech accomplishment but also a fun foil to, say, Super Mario 64, which did 3D so much better just two years later".