Smallest N64 game?

[veronica_marsfan]

Wikipedia says its 4 megabytes (half the size of Mario 64), and it was called Automobili Lamborghini.

So is this game any good?
Got any screenshots of it,
so I can check it out?

[fishsandwich]

go to ign.com http://ign64.ign.com/articles/152/152002p1.html

They have screenshots

It was pretty good for its day... it was one of the first N64 racers if I recall (not THE first... that dubious honor goes to Crusin' USA)

The graphics are kind of plain but it played ok. I'm surprised to hear it took so little memory.

here's the review on ign

Automobili Lamborghini
How does Titus' street racer compare with the rest of the N64 racers?
by Peer Schneider
December 3, 1997 - Whether you're into rally cars, karts, jetskis, cyber bikes, or animals in airplanes, the N64 is the racing console of choice. But fans of straightforward street racing games, such as Ridge Racer, were pretty much out of luck -- until now. With Automobili Lamborghini, the French softwarehouse Titus tries to fill the void the absence of Namco's prominent racing series has left on our favorite system. And although there are a few obvious faults in the game, this sequel to the Euro-hit Lamborghini American Challenge for the Super NES does a decent job at bringing street racing home.

Gameplay: Like Top Gear Rally, Automobili Lamborghini grows on you. In the beginning, it will all seem a little dull, expecially after playing some of the N64's off-road or kart racers. Lamborghini's cars, a cool selection of dream cars by (surprise) Lamborghini, Porsche and Ferrari, are pretty much glued to the road. There are no long jumps, loud crashes, or violent flips no matter how hard you try to hit a tunnel wall or your opponent; this is as straightforward as racing gets. On top of that, the tracks lack the complex design of the courses in MRC or Top Gear Rally, with only few short-cuts and a limited number of tricky corners.

On the positive side, the other drivers' AI is well done, with cars that swerve in front of you and even crash into you on purpose (I hope) to prevent you from passing. For those who liked the cheating AI in Mario Kart, where trailing players automatically catch up, Automobili Lamborghini offers an option to turn that feature on as well.

Lamborghini features standard Grand Prix and arcade modes on six distinct tracks at decent speeds. It's definitely not the fastest racer out there (even TGR eclipses it once it gets going), but when you earn the hidden cars and play from the first-person perspective, it reproduces an adequate feeling of driving the dream machines. Although there's not much innovation to the racing action in this game, the necessity of pit stops makes Lamborghini stand out from the competition. Like in an F1 racer, you have to time your stops well, refuel your car, and even change the tires. The cool thing is that you get full control over the pit action -- from using the analog stick to manually control the fueling process, and having to turn the stick to put on the tires. It doesn't sound like much, but it's fun little addition.


You can also choose from a variety of options, adjust the difficulty, select from three different camera modes (alas, no hood view), and even a pause camera that lets you look at your car from all sides. It's a shame that the cars don't take visual damage and lack the realistic physics of Top Gear Rally. Note that the turbo boosts from the predecessor are not in Automobili Lamborghini.

Graphics: Despite a lack of roadside detail, Automobili Lamborghini manages to look extremely polished with nicely modeled cars and a variety of cool effects, such as skid marks and smoking tires. And what N64 game would be complete without the obligatory lens flare effect -- although I do admit that it's quite well done in Automobili Lamborghini.

With fluid frame rates in all game modes (yes, even with four players) and a refreshing absence of fog on most tracks (of course, there's more in the multiplayer modes), Lamborghini's visual side is quite appealing, indeed.

Sound: Like with most other N64 racers, the music in Lamborghini is decent and fulfills its purpose, but isn't all that memorable. Sound effects are decent, too, with lots of tire screeching and engine noises that won't drive you insane (hear that, F1 Pole Position?). But what's up with crash noises on the N64? After the disappointing billiard-ball collision noises in TGR, I was hoping for a little more "meat" in Automobili Lamborghini.

Control: Oversteering strikes back. Lamborghini's controls are quite touchy and might pose some serious problems for beginners. However, you will get used to them after a while and have no problem to stay on the road. Still, the cars don't handle like they should.

Multiplayer: This is where the game really shines and manages to beat out most of the other racers on the system. Unlike Top Gear Rally, MRC, and San Francisco Rush, Lamborghini manages to come up with a very playable four player vs. mode. And for once, the two-player races are not confined to single track one-on-ones, but actually pit other drivers against you in complete Grand Prix races.

Memory Pak/Rumble Pak: Both are supported and work without problems (you can save your cars and your progress in the game), although Rumble Pak integration is generally ineffectual.

Closing Comments
If you put it all together, Automobili Lamborghini (Titus changed the title from Lamborghini 64 due to legal reasons) is a technically well-done title and a worthwhile addition to the N64 racing lineup. There are some problems with the overall speed, control (unless you have a steering wheel -- then turning becomes much easier!), and excitement in the one-player mode, but plug in a few more controllers and you will have a lot of fun racing against your friends. This game will definitely not convert you if you're not into racing, but it's a fun rental and makes a decent buy for fans of realistic street racing. Just don't crash into anything.

Another Take
from Matt Casamassina
Titus' Automobili Lamborghini, despite crisp, detailed graphics, fails to impress as a well-rounded racer because it lacks a true sense of speed and control is simply too touchy. The game, even at its very finest, feels slow and boring when compared to other racers which is a shame because excellent visual effects such as real-time lighting, fake specular highlighting and even a standard lens-flare give the game a graphical edge over the competition. Everything said and done, not a bad racer, but it could have been better. With games like Top Gear Rally and San Francisco Rush making up the competition, it should have been better.



IGN Ratings for Automobili Lamborghini (N64)
Rating Description
out of 10 click here for ratings guide
7.0 Presentation
A full Lamborghini license -- not bad. The car models could look a little better, though.
7.0 Graphics
The graphics are very clean but also devoid of roadside detail.
6.0 Sound
Boring techno. It won't annoy anyone, though.
7.0 Gameplay
The game plays quite well -- once you get used to the touchy controls.
7.0 Lasting Appeal
Thanks to a fluid four-player mode, the replay value is quite high.
7.0
Decent OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

[Clownzilla]

The smallest N64 game is not Automobili Lamborghini. The smallest N64 game is called "Cleaning Kit" and it's 0 MB.

[incubus421]

The smallest N64 game is not Automobili Lamborghini. The smallest N64 game is called "Cleaning Kit" and it's 0 MB.

Hm..game? or accessory?

But on topic I remember this being one of the first 5 N64 games I actually played and it was actually an enjoyable game easy to pick up and play which was great while still being introduced to the N64.

[PentiumMMX]

I didn't care much for it. It was better then F1 Pole Position, but inferior to Crusin' World

[Kevincal]

I remember you could do some awesome donuts in Lamborghini. :D

[xtremegamer]

I enjoyed this game in it's heyday. I just picked it up again this past weekend. Did not have a chance to play it again, but I'm sure I will enjoy it.

[Frica89]

I have the game, it just okay. I can't say it sucks, but I wouldn't recommend it to anybody either.

[RugalSizzler]

N64 had some nice early games. Crusin USA and clones is one them. Never had it since somebody tricked me out of money to get it.:bad-words:

[Trebuken]

Someone with all the roms should be able to confirm this to some degree. Assuming the roms are dumped accurately...

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

I like Automobili Lamborghini a lot. It's definitely one of my favorite racers on the N64, though the N64 has so many great racers, that it's hard to judge them against one another. While Automobili Lamborghini is a totally arcade style racer, it's quite different from the Cruis'n or SF Rush games, so I'm not sure which I like best. It'd depend on my mood, I suppose.

I thin that out of those three games, Automibili Lamborghini actually has the best graphics. They're very simple both in terms of models and textures, but this makes them look better in my opinion. Cleaner, clearer and more distinct, easier to deal with in a fast paced racing game. The Cruis'n and SF Rush games really have graphics that are too complicated for their own good. This is something that I think plagues a lot of modern racers even on more advanced systems. The new Outrun games are notable exceptions.

Automobili Lamborghini is not a 4MB game, though. I don't think any N64 games were sold that were on anything smaller than 8MB ROM chips. Automobili is 8MB and it takes up most of that ROM space unlike some other 8MB games. Penny Racers and Midway's Greatest Hits are both around 5MB if you discount the null data that fills in the rest of the 8MB ROM chip.


...word is bondage...

[DigitalSpace]

I own it. One of the better arcade-style checkpoint racers back in its heyday (OMG AN N64 GAME BY TITUS THAT DOESN'T SUCK!!11one!1). It's pretty cheap in the wild, too (I got my loose copy for $2.50). Worth a look if you're looking for cheap racers for your N64 collection.

[veronica_marsfan]

Lamborghini actually has the best graphics. ..... Cleaner, clearer and more distinct, easier to deal with in a fast paced racing game. The Cruis'n and SF Rush games really have graphics that are too complicated for their own good.
Yeah that's why I don't like Gran Turismo 1/2 on the old Playstation 1. The graphics look like a pixelated mess, and I can't tell where I'm going.

[michaelthemovieman]

I don't think any N64 games were sold that were on anything smaller than 8MB ROM chips.

Well, maybe they weren't sold on smaller chips, but it would seem that Titus didn't use the entire 8 megabytes, since Automobili was a 32 megabit game (according to Nintendo Power), which would translate to 4 megabytes.

Furthermore, there were a few other 4 megabyte N64 games released besides this one, including Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Virtual Chess 64, and I think Milo's Astro Lanes.

[j_factor]

So how big is Dr. Mario 64? It certainly doesn't seem like a big game.

[Jehuty]

Automobili Lamborghini was one of the games to have a 64dd expansion, it wasnt released but could be a reason of such a small cartridge size. All Titus would have to do is cut the game in half and stick it on the disc.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Well, maybe they weren't sold on smaller chips, but it would seem that Titus didn't use the entire 8 megabytes, since Automobili was a 32 megabit game (according to Nintendo Power), which would translate to 4 megabytes.

Furthermore, there were a few other 4 megabyte N64 games released besides this one, including Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Virtual Chess 64, and I think Milo's Astro Lanes.
I have the Automobili Lamborghini ROM on my Z64 backup unit and all the ROMs I keep on my Z64 are trimmed to save space. Automobili's ROM is just under 8MB trimmed. Nintendo Power was probably just wrong.

I don't know about the other games you mentioned since I don't have those ROMs, they may indeed be smaller. Like I said, I have a few games whose ROMs trim down to about 5MB.


...word is bondage...

[roushimsx]

ROMs that are 4096KB:
Automobili Lamborghini (US and EU)
Charlie Blast's Territory (US and EU)
Dr Mario 64 (US)
Jeopardy! (US)
Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits Vol 1 (US)
Namco Museum 64 (EU)
Virtual Chess 64 (US and EU)
Wheel of Fortune (US)

some of those suckers compress down pretty well, too. Charlie Blast's Territory goes down to 1,104KB when zipped up, for instance. Good stuff.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Hm, yeah, seems you're right. I just downloaded the ROM and it is indeed 4MB. The ROM I have on my Z64 must be an overdump or something. Same for the Midway's Greatest Hits ROM I had, too, I guess.

I better check through all the ROMs on the Z64's HD, there may be lots of wasted space. Maybe I can free up enough room to fit on the borderline games that didn't fit before. Like, uh, Blues Brothers 2000.


...word is bondage...