cool

Ouu, i really like race games... it's fun :)

Good racing game, I will keep it!

I suggest another good free racing game for the weekend - Ultra Nitro Racers from http://gamehitzone.com

here is a link to the game http://gamehitzone.com/previewgame/23/ultra-nitro-racers.html

I think this must be made by the same developer, but I can mistake.

My comp(p4,3ghz,2gb ram, shared 128 graphics) keeps re-starting. The problem could be Jungle Racer , installed a few days ago. However, this does not have an UNINSTALLER ! Could someone guide me as to how to uninstall, or should I just DELETE IT?

Too many of these driving programs rely on the arrow keys. Would be much better if you can use the mouse for movement, like some I have played. Ruins the game entirely, when most laptops have really narrow spacing on those keys...

Thanks Whiterabbituk !!! Another great review. Please keep them coming. Your friend, Mr. Snoozles "super cat." :x)

This is the same game as "Offroad Racers" at Gametop, where it is free all the time (just make sure you are vigilant and un-checkmark the toolbars and other junk when downloading). I have never had any problem with Gametop.
http://www.gametop.com/download-free-games/offroad-racers/

I love racing games, but I am very very bad at them. I can't even get around the first track once on this one. Oh well. I usually only can play racing games when there's a "practice" mode, so I can just drive around at my own pace, or at least try to go the right direction ...

Very cool looking though.

Started without problem on my integrated Intel graphics core.

1.The graphics are really good! Congratulations! The driving factor is very high.

2. But the gameplay lacks variety. I could not see much difference in the 3 game modi.

3. There should be crash-car elements included. The cars should become visibly damaged and influence the gameplay (steering, speed).

4. Crash should be possible not only by overheating the engine.

5. Overheating is good realized. It overheats without any visible warnings. There should come e.g. some smoke first, then slow down, then damage.

6. The AI is much to good. The enemies should make more mistakes and have different styles. There should be a difficulty switch.

7. Build in some barriers that cost time e.g. oil, water, stones, holes, mud, dirt, wood, fire, animals, ramps for jumps, opposing traffic

8. be more creative. I suggest you to play some arcade racing games from the 80´s/90´s and let yourself inspire...

thank you Mr. Rabbit for telling us this is full screen. Better to find out before downloading and installing it.
I got JaneCroft on my netbook and cannot play it because part of it is off screen.
If it is at all possible could you please forward my request to the game.giveaway people to see if they can place the information on screen size for games.
example being best on desktop monitor, works on a laptop or can be played on a netbook in the game information area.
This way someone like me who has just a netbook will not be disappointed by downloading a game then finding out later when they play it that it is not possible to play the game since the screen is partially cut off .

Loads up o-k for me but can't get any forward motion, Just left/right and reverse!
No problem making my own desktop shortcut on XP Pro.
I tried running from the icon in C:/Games just in case the shortcut was causing problem but nope...still can't go forwars up and down arrow just go in reverse.

@Chris - Thanks the compatibility issue was resolved with the comment of Adamus
@Adamus - Thanks! This now works in my win7 machine! I am now playing it in non-full screen mode.
@Moderator - Now that I have played with it, I will not install this gem.

Thanks GGOTD.

Thanks WR for the config file tip. 800x600 made it run smoother on my lappy, but I couldn't get used to the physics/steering. Guess it's back to Twisted Metal for me.

FYI, for anyone who likes the game but runs into choppy graphics, try changing lod from -1 to 0. I believe it's unconventional for games to default to a mipmap of -1; perhaps Handmade thinks it's a quick n dirty way to enhance their textures?

Still, thanks to GGAOTD and Handmade for bringing us another free game, especially one that runs on my 9-year-old 700mhz 512mb GeForce2 lappy!

Very Cool game! Last time you offered it, I was unable to get it to work, but this time it installed perfectly on win 7 64x.
Nice animation, good speed, interesting scenes and game play. Definitely a keeper! Thanks, GameGiveaway!

Keyboard control of a driving game? No thanks.

playability is really so-so in this game. Controls are easy enough, but you're fixed to one camera view. Turning is also a pain, it's so easy to over steer and there's no settings to allow you to change it from what I can see.

Runs really well on my three year old laptop which has it's own dedicated ATI graphics card with 256mb memory.

Graphics are decent, cars look nice. But it's all let down by the steering.

A 4 out of 10 from me. I'd love to give it more, but the lack of options and steering adjustment kill it for me.

Does Not work on Windows 7 64-bit


.............................Moderator comment..................................

It works on my Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit and my win 7 Pro 64 bit.

BTW: Who want to get NICE 3D EXPERIENCE ON NEARLY EVERY DISPLAY (EVEN CHEAP LAPTOP) ???
If someone wanted to get some 3D experience, then this game is really good for it!!! You need to do 3 steps as follow:
1. Get Red/Cyan paper 3D glasses (very cheap & quite popular with magazines].
2. Go & download the free version of iZ3D. Now the anaglyph module is free(!!!). Install it.
3. Run this GGOTD game & fine-tune iZ3D driver when having your 3D glasses on.

This game has some disadvantages, but is is very smooth on my quite old computer & is very good to converting it to the 3D. NO crazy sprites,etc. It is really nice to give it a 3D try!

BTW2: Maybe the manufacturer will add the 3D anaglyph as the built-in option? ;-)


...........................Moderator comment.......................

thanks again for the useful info.

Well, a 1.6GHz pentiumM isn't good enough


...........................Moderator comment...............................

It should be okay. do you have a reasonable graphics card, and what RAM do you have (both system and graphics RAM?)

Wait... wasn't this on from last last week's? Is it the same thing?


..............................Moderator Comment..........................

If you read my review above (comment#1) you’ll see that it's an upgraded form of the game, which was given away over a month ago. The number of levels has increased to 72 with four modes each one repeating in each mode. In reality there are no new maps to explore, you get the same maps repeated but with slight changes (as you are probably already aware). The speed boost has been increased in the time trial mode to fix the problem of not being able to finish one of the levels (there was never enough time to finish even though you had a perfect round). There are possibly other changes, but I've not had the chance to explore the game further. Hopefully a few other members may enlighten us as to any other changes. ;-)

I download here and try most games and programs that are offered. Sorry but this is probably the worst I have seen here. Very poorly written program, no uninstaller, runs choppy, menu ,you have to back out of each screen,one by one, options are for sound only. Somebody messed up on signing this one up. HAND MADE GAMES IS MORE LIKELY HOMEMADE GAMES.


..........................Moderator comment...............................

Granted it's not the best vehicle racing game, but it does work for me(and I have all the latest racing games), and I’m sure it’s an okay game for many other giveaway community members as well.

Handmade games have also given away several decent space orientated games in the past. They seem to be the only developers to contribute games on a regular basis since the game giveaway went to weekends only. Of course it's a matter of opinion., and we are all entitled to that.

If you are used to the likes of Nailed and the last few need for speed games (recently released), or games like fuel, dirt 2, Grid, and the soon to be released Test drive 2, todays offering may seem a very poor cousin, but I personally enjoyed playing it for a short while. I'd much rather play Split Second (another recent release), Need for Speed Undercover, Flatout and a whole plethora of vehicle based games than this game, but as an arcade racer it's okay and works well for a few minutes of light relief from more in depth games or mundane work related issues.

Hi,
downloaded for an 8 and 13 yr olds....13 yr old, up, and played. thanks for this game, my kids love monster trucks!!
I just wish games had some education in them...some do... not enough....my kids remeber the stuff from the game!!! :)
His comments, his typing:
Graphics are good, controls could be better, along with the speed. otherwise its a good game.


.............................Moderator Comment...........................

Hi Suzy, have you checked the game discussion forums. We post details and links to free games every week. There's a synopsis on the front page of the game discussion forums called G@rgoyles free games synopsis, though I've not updated it in three months so there’s quite a few good games, including educational games that have been posted.

The synopsis can be found via the following link:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/4534#post-48383

and I posted some educational games such as two of the Ecoquest games and Little Big Adventure; all three of which are excellent educational games and can be found in week 120's postings (page 2 of the game discussion forums. Here's a link to page 2.

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/forum/17/page/2

There are more games; you just have to look through the synopsis and the games that have been posted recently. All the games have a label included that tells you what type of game they are.

For people who are experiencing problems when trying tor run this game WHEN USING PIVOTED OR FANCY MONITOR I am repeating my last (12th of DEC 2010) comment:
##
I have installed it, but I was experiencing segfaults ['application performed illegal operation & will be closed' message] instead of the game. I am using pivoted monitor. I have finally successfully ran this game by tweaking the ‘config.cfg’ file entry to ‘fullScreen = 0′ [changed from 1 to 0]. It disabled the full-screen mode & allowed the game to start-up correctly. So there is some small hint to everyone who has unusual monitor configurations – let he/she tweak & disable the full-screen mode in the config.cfg file.
##

Some more hints for game-hackers: ;-)
##
I have searched for some more & found that this game has a lot of XML files that allows to change car physics with extreme ease!!! You can even change some scripts [I don't know for what & with what, but you can ;-) ]. I don’t have the time, but one can make a super-extra-charged car to pass this ugly level 4 & more ;-D One can make crazy car that do not know what the physic is [haven't read the physics books ;-) ]. It is really funny ;-) Try it with NFS series without tools ;-b Big thanks GGOTD! ;-) End of spamming by me for today ;-) Have fun ;-)
##


........................................Moderator Comment................................


Thanks for the info Adamus

Pathetic..... Thought I'd give it a try, but I have to say, the game simply isn't worth $1 let alone $14.99. The game doesn't run smooth _at all_ and crashes when trying make changes in the 'Options'. Save your bandwidth and hard drive space.


..................................Moderator Comment........................

It's a matter of opinionJSG. You may find this game rubbish, but some; especially those that don't own the latest racing games may find the game entertaining. As for not running smoothly???? It ran fine on my over 2 year old self build (though I have updated the graphics card a year ago) and it's not crashed while I've been testing/playing it. Maybe there's somethig wrong with your system. (Though it could indicate poor coding I suppose).

@ tedm01 - Had same problem on Win 7 x64 (current NVidia drivers). Tried compatibility settings, and worked fine after that.

Wow! Nice One! I look forward each week very much to weekends when there are game giveaways. Some are fantastic! Have to say this one looks great and that's from a Flat Out 2 fanatic!


.........................................Moderator comment..............................

Got to agree with you there about Flatout 2. Brilliant game. One of my favourite car based games. I actually prefer Flatout 2 to Flatout Ultimate Carnage. The latest version is basically Flatout 2 with a face life. Graphics are better, but they have added four more vehicles to each race which makes it harder to win. (Not a bad thing I suppose), but when I purchased the third I was a little disappointed because all the maps were the same as Flatout 2. I think I'll go play it now. ;-)

Très sympa, merci infiniment .... Ce petit jeu va me changer les idées.


.................................Moderator Comment............................

Google translator:

Very nice, thank you very much .... This game will change my mind

How do you uninstall this program? It does not work with Win7 Ultimate 64 and just hangs in a blank screen with music. Tried running as administrator but to no avail. Revouninstaller cannot uninstall it. too.

...........................Moderator Comment............................

It works fine with my Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit. Maybe you need to update your graphic drivers?

Thank you, GOTD. The software of today is a little bit poor, but the game is goood. :)

I have the previous version of Jungle Racers, but this one is "Rad".
I'm doing wheelies, riding on 2 wheels and catching some sweet air flying over the bumps. Thanks Handmade Games, I'll be sure to visit your site.

Downloaded this game the last time it was offered and I'm very pleased with the game play. I've managed to get a cup in about 8 of the 18 tracks but I seem to be too slow in the timed races, always short of the checkpoint. I guess I need more practice. I give it 2 thumbs up.
Thank you GGOTD.


.........................Moderator Comment..........................

The boost has been increased in the timed trial, so they should be easier to completebow. there are also a few other changes made as well.

Just wanted to post saying thank you GGOTD for still offering games on the weekend and thank you to Stephen for your quality "award winning" reviews. Yes they are that high quality! Unfortunately the games from this company, I play them a few times, but after I play them 6 times they crash the 6th times. If I delete the config file to try and sort this out it seems the license file unregs the game! Wonderful start for the devs, bad news for us do it ourself people if we try to solve a problem on our own and it results in the game going to demo mode.......


......................................Moderator comment..............................

Thank you Jason. (Though I still think my reviews are rather poorly written. I just widsh I could spend more time om creating them.

This is another game from Handmade games. The 86.7Mb zip file unpacks to 2 files, a read me and a dual set up and activation module. The installed game is nearly 200Mb in size and installs to:

C:\Games\

There is no shortcuts to the desktop or the Start menu Programs list so you will need to make a note of where the game installs to so that you can make a shortcut. The game works on Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit, Win 7 Pro 64 bit, and XP Pro 32 bit. Will check Vista later. if I have the time.

The Game:

We were given the basic version of this game only several weeks ago, on the 11th December 2011. The title has changed from Jungle Racer to Jungle Racer Advanced and the game has been revised to give you the ability to play all 18 tracks in all game modes. Originally you would play one of each of the three modes six times over the 18 levels, whereas now you effectively get 18 x 4 levels. There’s been the addition of one new mode called contest, where you have to play all 18 levels to win the contest, the original modes included ‘Race’, where you had to complete all laps and finish first, ‘Elimination’ where you had to ensure you weren’t the last vehicle to get to a checkpoint and time attack where you had to pass a checkpoint within a specific time. Apart from the above changes the game is basically the same as the original release. However there has been a few other minor changes such as the speed boost, which has been increased sin time attack so that you can use it for much longer before your engine overheats, and you can now reset when yo blow your engine with just a small time penalty.

The following is just a reposting of my review from December with some changes made to the conclusions..


Jungle Racers works from the same basic design that all of Handmade games have followed. You have to win either Gold, Silver or Bronze medal to unlock the next level. Scoring a specific number of cup awards will unlock one of the six locked vehicles. You start the game with two unlocked vehicles. I unlocked the third vehicle after winning a bronze and a Gold award in my first and second races.

There are three race types available, but these are programmed into the game as opposed to being able to select the mode you want to play. Basically you start with a time attack where you race alone against the clock. Every checkpoint ads extra time which is cumulative to the time you had left when you passed. To help you get there faster you have a boost control. Beware though as too much boost will blow your engine. Thankfully there is an indicator to the bottom left of the screen. An audible warning will alert you to imminent engine failure. To use the boost control just press X. The second race type is a circuit race where you race against several AI controlled vehicles of various descriptions. (You’ll be able to unlock these as the game progresses). You have to win third, second or first place to progress to the next level. The final race type is called an elimination race. The last vehicle past a checkpoint is eliminated from the race until only the last car is left. You have to be in the top three to unlock the next stage. The additional mode called Contest is basically all 18 levels strung together. you have to race all 18 levels to be declared the winner.

There are now 72 levels in all; however those 72 tracks are made up from the following basic levels with the addition of fog and a reverse track to each type. only six different tracks made up of the following:

Guava forest
Coco Forest
Bamboo forest
Banana forest
Roacky Canyon
Mixed Forest

Each environment is repeated two more times, the first repeat you get fog and the second repeat you race the reverse of the original track, making 18 races in total for each of the four modes available in game.



You can set up multiple profiles. Once you’ve completed a race your profile and progress will be saved, though you have to complete and win a race for it to be saved. You can reset (re-spawn) a race if problems arise, for example you get stuck on a bend or have crashed into the forest and are finding it difficult to get back on track. The game is keyboard controlled and you can only play the game in full screen.

Changing the Config file:

:idea: There is a way around the full screen only problem. you need to remove the config file from the installed games folder then edit it. You may need to change the program to open the config file (for example notebook will open it up and then enable you to edit the settings). Change the full screen to 0 and the screen width and height to whatever setting you want for example 800 x 600. (Though I found making it just a little smaller that the original settinfgs worked. Changing it too much made it so that you couldn't see most of the game screen and some of the menus were inaccessible). I'd definitely save the original and create a set of different config files for different effects. You can change things like friction to chnge the way the game plays, though be careful with these because you may mess the game up. I found reducing the screen size too much made it impossible to play the game because parts of the screen were missing. Changing the weather made the screen black. My advice mess around with the settings until you find something that works for you. I found after changing the settings a configuration widow would pop up that didn't when I first stated the game. From the configuration window you can turn off bloom and motion blur as well as change the number of particles. This may be a way of getting the game to work for those who say the game starts with a black screen. ;-)


Controls:

Accelerate – Forward Arrow
Brake - Back Arrow
Turn Left – Left Arrow
Turn Right – right Arrow
Boost – X
Pause = Esc

Conclusion:

This is a much improved game over other racing games from Handmade games and with the addition of the new mode and the ability to play all the levels in each mode the game has effectively been quadrupled in size with respect to level numbers. The basic version only had 18 levels to play whereas now you get 72 levels.

The game physics are reasonable, the graphics are okay and the variety of races enough to keep you entertained. If you’re into games like Grid, Dirt 2, the Need for Speed franchise, and other big bucks racing games this will probably seem like a very poor cousin and you'll think it c&*%, but as an arcade game it’s quite good in my opinion and worth 7 out of 10; (compared to my scorings of 5 or 6 for all other hand made racing games), though personally I'd only give it a 5 out of 10 as there is nothing innovative about the game. The overall feel of the game is okay, though if you don’t use the speed boost the speed of your vehicle feels rather sluggish. With the speed boost having been increased significantly with respect to how long you can apply it in the Time attack it’s now possible to complete some of the races that were nigh on near impossible, in the original game

You can now restart the game by pressing R; especially after an engine blowout whereas previously, if you blew your engine you had to wait until you either timed out on a stage in time attack, get eliminated or until the race ends in the circuit race. I think the game could be improved further if some of the environments such as the guava and coco modes were set at different times of day because they look so similar.

I don't think the game is worth $14.99, especially when you can get better 'big bucks' games from places like steam and direct 2 drive (digital downloads) or from shops like Game UK for similar prices once the initial sales periods have expired, for example you can get Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate box for less than $10, that game has amazing graphics and superb game physics. Or an even better bargain is the first in the dirt series for about $7.50. I'd rcertainly reduce the games price to $5 or less, especially as the developer has already allowed places like Gametop to give the game away, otherwise i doubt anyone would purchase it.

Thank you Handmade games and the Gamegiveawayoftheday team for bringing us more games.

Alternatives.

There’s a wheeled games thread over in the game discussion forums where you’ll find loads of racing games and you’ll find quite a few racing games that I’ve not added to the wheeled games thread in G@rgoyles free games synopsis (look in the stickies on the forums front page). There are also 36 racing games of various types that you can get from MyPlayCity which you can find via the following link:

http://www.myplaycity.com/free_racing_games/

I’ve not linked to Gametop because I’ve locked it out on my computer. I got a pop up asking me to allow a specific file to run when trying to access Gametop. I didn’t allow it and have not been able to access the site since. You’ll find several racing games including a copy of this game there as well, but most are repeated at MyPlayCity. Gametop have become more aggressive with respect to adding home page hijacking and tool bar installations, all of which you can opt out of, but if you forget, is an annoyance.



p.s.

I wasn't able to take any screenshots of in game racing as they would all come out totally black. I managed to capture the above images by changing the configuration file that you can find in the installed games folder, but was only able to capture menu screens and intro screens. The in game images I’ve posted were copied from the developers web site.