text: ballistics ( video game ) ballistics is a futuristic racing computer game developed by grin and published by xicat interactive in 2001 . grin developed an arcade version of the game , released in 2002 featuring a unique reclined seating position cabinet by triotech . players race across seven different tracks in various leagues against other competitors on high - speed hoverbikes . the game was grin 's first to be released , and featured the first version of their diesel game engine . grin worked closely with nvidia to incorporate then new technologies into the game , and was marketed as one of the flagship titles for the geforce 3 series of graphics cards . critical reaction was generally favourable , with reviewers being impressed by the beauty of the graphics and the thrilling depiction of speed . they were however , slightly disappointed with the shallow nature of the gameplay . a newer version of the arcade game was released in 2003 , incorporating motion simulator technology into the arcade cabinet . gameplay set in 2090 , the game is centred on a fictional extreme racing sport known as ballistics , a descendant of formula one . the player takes the role of a ballistic 's pilot , racing hoverbikes called speeders through the inside of tubes which form the courses . the speeders are magnetically attached to the race surface , allowing the player 360 degrees of movement along the left / right axis . the player can detach the speeder from the track and navigate down the center in order to avoid track obstacles and to acquire the power - ups exclusively located there . players must try to follow the outside of each curve , as hitting the inside of a curve at speed could lead to an involuntary detachment , leading to a loss of control and seconds dropped in securing reattachment . heat levels on the speeder must be monitored , as although there are no set top speeds for the vehicles , they can explode if allowed to overheat . heat builds up from acceleration and from collisions . to counteract this , the player may activate the onboard cooler , however , this will slow the vehicle down . designated cooling strips along the track and the ice power - up can cool the vehicle without a speed penalty , allowing the player to continue accelerating . have a boost meter , showing how much fuel is available for the onboard speed boost . although the boost provides greater speeds and acceleration than the standard throttle , it also increases the speeder 's heat levels . designated booster load zones along the track replenish the meter , and a super boost power - up is available which doubles the potency of the boost . players are rewarded with cash for attaining high speeds , placing highly in races and obtaining the flip - score power - up . cash can be used in between races to upgrade their speeder by purchasing new parts . parts are split into four categories - chassis , cooler , engine and front shield , with each affecting the speeder in different ways . some tracks may favour a particular set - up over others . there are seven tracks included in the game , with locations inspired from different parts of the globe , from belize to tokyo . progression through the game is achieved by competing in and winning races against computer controlled racers spread over different tracks and in different leagues . players begin in the rookie league , across three of the tracks , where the chances of detachment from the race surface are decreased and rates of acceleration reduced . success in the rookie league unlocks the less forgiving pro league with more tracks on which to compete . further success unlocks the most difficult league , the ballistics league , competition in this league occurs across every track and to complete this , the player must place first in every race . success in the game relies on track memorisation , fast reflexes , careful balancing of heat and boost levels , and selecting the right set - up for each track . the game is marked for its pure focus on speed , with speeds breaking mach 3 depending on the players skill . at these speeds the graphics and audio blur and distort , and have been compared with the psychedelic vortex sequence of 2001 : a space odyssey . ballistics supports multiplayer gameplay for up to eight players across a lan or internet . development ballistics was the first game developed at grin . careful planning and production methods enabled a very quick completion time of 6 months ; the game was finished before even acquiring a distribution partner . grin used methods to ensure a high standard of work , and jit techniques to ensure the timing of different production phases came together . the prime inspiration for the game was formula one , and grin tried to recreate the feeling of speed captured by the in - car cameras . in order to achieve a good on screen reference for the speeds attained , the track was redesigned into a tunnel , allowing the entire screen to act as a reference . coupling this with scenes of the outdoors enabled grin to create " a total speed simulation " . the settings were inspired by various sources , the city tracks drew inspiration from the films blade runner and the fifth element , other tracks took their inspiration from nature , such as the amazon rainforest and snow scenes of siberia . ballistics took cues from other futuristic racing games , such as and , emulating the fun and the speed whilst taking it even further with high end graphics . the graphics engine used to power the game was christened the diesel engine . grin developed this engine for flexibility and scalability , allowing the engine to be easily upgraded with new features . based on directx , this meant the engine could be used across windows and xbox platforms . grin worked closely with nvidia to incorporate then new technologies such as pixel and vertex shaders to render complex scenes . ballistics was marketed by nvidia as a flagship title for their new series of geforce 3 graphics cards . the game came bundled with various versions of the geforce 3 , with distribution of the bundled game handled by interplay oem . later versions of the diesel engine would be used in grin games such as the windows version of tom clancy 's ghost recon advanced . arcade version grin announced in may 2001 that it was working on an arcade version of ballistics for distribution by triotech . the game 's gameplay had to be reworked to suit an arcade environment , and support was added for multiplayer games with up to eight linked cabinets . triotech designed a unique reclined seating cabinet for the game , the aim of the design was to offer the player a more comfortable and immersive experience . the inspiration for the design came to triotech co - founder , ernest yale ; who whilst putting his feet up on the desk , realised how comfortable the playing position was . ballistics was released for arcades in january 2002 . the game would be updated twice for the arcade . ballistics 2003 , launched in early 2003 , incorporated triotech 's motion motion simulator technology into the cabinet . providing force feedback through the seat , this allows the player to experience up to 2g of acceleration whilst playing the game , with actuators in the seat providing 100 movements per second . a further version of the cabinet , super ballistics was launched in september 2003 . chris morris , listed ballistics 2003 as one of the top " video game gifts for the obscenely rich " in his holiday 2004 column at cnn money . reception critical reception towards the game was largely positive , albeit lukewarm ; receiving a rating of 71 % at review aggregation website metacritic . reviews generally praised the high graphical standard in the game , pc zone described the visuals as superb and praised the use of " transparent surfaces and open frameworks to alleviate the potential monotony of racing through a drainpipe . " ign echoed this , stating that at those moments where " a solid tunnel breaks into a transparent one " , " the true meticulous nature of the courses can be realized " . gamespot praised the graphical effects , describing them as " a psychedelic display of cosmic lighting and motion - blur wizardry " . reviews were agreed on ballistics ' successful implementation of " a total speed simulation " ; pc zone stating that " ballistics is , in fact , the fastest racing game ever " , and eurogamer commenting that this was a game that made " wipeout look like driving miss daisy " . although ign felt that at times the " ridiculous speed actually often works to debilitate [ the gameplay ] " . the gameplay was less well received , and reviewers commented on the lack of depth to the gameplay and that the inclusion of only seven tracks meant the game lacked variety . pc gamer ( us edition ) noted that whilst " the game delivers an intense , thrilling experience " , this only lasted " 20 minutes or so " . gamespot shared similar sentiments , stating that " ballistics loses much of its fascination within the first few hours of playtime " and that it would only take four or five practice sessions per track to master the game . still , some critics found the game very enjoyable and exciting . eurogamer closed their review stating that " when you get ' in the zone ' " , " the sheer adrenaline rush is unbeatable " . pc zone finished by stating that " ballistics really will leave your adrenal gland as dry as a stiffened sponge " .