{{Short description|1988 video game}} {{For|the 2004 remake|Power Drome}} {{Infobox video game | title = Powerdrome | image = Powerdrome 1988 cover.png | publisher = Electronic Arts | designer = Michael Powell | platforms = Atari ST,<ref name="Chicago Tribune">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune/163804431/|title=Powerdrome|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|page=144|date=May 25, 1990|accessdate=January 24, 2025|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Amiga,<ref name="Chicago Tribune"/> MS-DOS | released = '''1988:''' Atari ST<br>'''1989:''' Amiga<br>'''1990:''' MS-DOS | genre = Racing | modes = Single-player, multiplayer }} '''''Powerdrome''''' is a 1988 futuristic racing video game by Michael Powell released on the Atari ST and published by Electronic Arts. Players race jet-engined, anti-gravity bikes called ''blades'' around closed tracks. Ports for Amiga and MS-DOS were released in 1989 and 1990 respectively. A remake was released in 2004.
==Gameplay== The game includes six tracks, set across five planets. The road-equivalent turning method of yaw is not present, meaning a right turn is achieved by rolling to the right and pitching up.<ref>Timothy Trimble;Apr 1990;''Powerdrome Review'' in ''Amiga World'' Vol 6 No 4;pp72] "To make a right turn, roll to the right, then pull back on the yoke, which swings the nose of your racer into the turn."</ref> Control is sensitive, but allows use of the mouse for greater accuracy.<ref>Mark Higham;(Dec 1988);''Powerdrome'' in ''ST Amiga Format 6'' (Dec 1988);pp 52-53 "This spectacular looking frying pan is about as easy to control as a Lamborghini in the wintry frozen fields of Dartmoor."</ref> Gameplay is complicated by the need to equip gas filters to cope with each planet's atmosphere and weather, with further choices to be made over types of fuel.
Control was improved for the Amiga release in 1989 and an extra track made available. A version on the PC in 1990 was soon followed by a re-release on all formats.
== Reception == Released as a budget game, ''Powerdrome'' received good reviews, with a few remembering the original and its influence on the futuristic racing genre.<ref>[http://www.ntsc-uk.com/review.php?platform=xbo&game=Powerdrome NTSC-UK] "the game became an instant cult classic, paving the way for the slew of sci-fi racers that we know today."{{Dead link|date=December 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://uk.gamespot.com/xbox/driving/powerdrome/review.html GameSpot] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014180158/http://uk.gamespot.com/xbox/driving/powerdrome/review.html |date=2007-10-14 }} "When speaking of the genesis of futuristic racing games as we know them ... UK developer Argonaut lays some claim to genre husbandry"</ref> All were impressed with the smooth sensation of speed and detailed environments, although the music was considered lackluster and the pilots' voices annoying.
==Remake== {{Main|Power Drome}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{MobyGames|id=/powerdrome_|name=''Powerdrome'' (1988)}}
Category:1988 video games Category:2004 video games Category:Amiga games Category:Argonaut Games games Category:Atari ST games Category:DOS games Category:Electronic Arts games Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games Category:PlayStation 2 games Category:Racing video games Category:Science fiction racing games Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom Category:Video games scored by Christopher Mann Category:Windows games Category:Xbox games