Obscure and Forgotten PC Demos - Autobahn Raser
0If you're a Kraut and grew up in the 90s playing PC games like I did, you may remember this racing game series so well which was sold at budget prices and even included as full games in issues of PC gaming magazines like Computer Bild Spiele in the early-mid 2000s. This is Autobahn Raser, the flagship franchise of Davilex, the company which we Krauts thought were from our country, until we found out not too long after playing it that they were based in neighbouring Holland, and this game is actually a port and localization of their native A2 Racer series. This game served as the basis of what would become A2 Racer II, which also became the basis for Autobahn Raser II and the UK equivalent M25 Racer aka. London Racer. Both Autobahn Raser II and London Racer were eventually released in the Netherlands as A2 Racer III - Europa Tour, and it even got a PlayStation version, the first coming from Davilex, but not nearly as good as its original PC counterpart. Due to the insane success of this series in both Germany and the Netherlands, it spawned sequels and even some spin-offs, one of which became the basis of the French edition of A2 Racer III - Europa Tour called Paris-Marseille Racing. Even a movie of the same name was made in 2004, which also got a game based off of it from the exact same company. They released games including some on PlayStation consoles up until late 2005 when Davilex withdrew from the gaming industry altogether and had become a normal software developer that they usually always were since their founding in the mid-80s until 2017 when Norwegian company called Visma bought them up and ceased operations since then.
Out of all the Autobahn Raser/A2 Racer games released, this happens to be like the one and only game that got a playable demo of: The first one, as far as I know at least. Even the first London Racer, which is the UK port and localization of A2 Racer II and Autobahn Raser II as stated earlier, got a demo too.
In the demo, you race in a blue Porsche 911 through Cologne against three other opponents on one single lap, while also becoming aware of speed cameras that you must run over when you spot them, or else you pay a fine when you drive past them and get "flashed" when speeding as it is typical.
But, there is one thing you must take note of: Next to your speedometer is a fuel gauge which means, Yes! You can and will run out of fuel as you drive, and when fuel runs out, instead of resulting in a game over, you just stop for a moment as a yellow VW Golf designated as an ADAC road patrol car pulls over next to you to refill your car whilst your opponents drive past you, and the "Filth" who chase after you, in the classic green color scheme as opposed to the blue that we Krauts have today, can easily "nick" you while you're out of fuel and you're stationary, to which you also pay a fine as per usual, instead of getting "nicked" for good.
Of course, you have to be aware of gas stations that show up which you must stop by and not drive past them, because if you do, you will run out of fuel. Having to refuel the car by stopping at the gas station was a major hussle, something which the sequels thankfully rectified having you only drive through so-called Quick Service stations, and that you only run out of Turbo instead of fuel.
Unfortunately, either due to DOSBox-Pure emulation despite being decent as seen here, or other reasons, I could not stop at the up and coming gas station because doing so will crash the demo as I tried, believe me.