Badlands (video game)

Badlands is a 1989 arcade game published by Atari Games. It was ported by Domark under the Tengen label to the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS.
"Badlands" is set in the aftermath of a nuclear war and races around abandoned wastelands with many hazards. Three gun-equipped cars race around a track to win prizes. The game is a re-themed version of Atari's previous racing games "Super Sprint" and "Championship Sprint" with the addition of vehicular combat.
Gameplay.
"Badlands" pits three cars against each other in a three lap race around a small, single-screen circuit. Bonuses are present in the form of wrenches which can be traded for goods such as extra speed, extra acceleration or better tires
Unlike the "Sprint" games, "Badlands" expands upon the formula, taking place in a post-apocalyptic environment and equipping each of the players with cannons. In reality, the cannons do little except to slow cars down by repeatedly shooting at them, but the shop between levels offers the possibility of arming the car with missiles which will destroy the target car, placing it at a severe disadvantage as a replacement is brought onto the track, taking a few seconds.
The tracks also featured a number of new obstacles, including mines and retractable barricades.
Reception.
Response to the Spectrum version was mixed. "Your Sinclair" and "CRASH" awarded average marks, both claiming in reviews of the original and rerelease that the title's contemporary "Super Off-Road" was superior. "Sinclair User" expressed more enthusiasm for the game, but made the same comparison to "Super Off-Road".
Legacy.
The game was re-released in 2005 as part of "Midway Arcade Treasures 3" for the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox. It was also re-released in 2006 as part of "Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition" for Microsoft Windows.