If you were a PC gamer during the 1980s, you might remember the car-combat game Deathtrack. At least that's what developer 1C is hoping, because it's bringing the franchise back to the PC (and most likely the Xbox 360 as well). We snagged some hands-on time with the PC version of the game at E3 2007.

　　Death Track (yes, two words this time) is set in a post-World War III world where people have seemingly decided that regular racing is boring. So in an effort to spice things up they've mounted weapons to their race cars. Of course, these weapons aren't just for show. After all, the easiest opponent to pass is one whose vehicle is a smoldering wreck on the side of the road.

　　Click to enlarge!

　　As with pretty much all racing games, the objective here is to finish first, but you'll want to look good doing it since you earn points for doing stunts off the ramps found on each course. These points will open up shortcuts on tracks and they can also be used to purchase new weapons and upgrades. The car we drove was equipped only with a machine gun, but it was enough to take out several opponents who had the nerve to get in front of us. While we made our way around the track we snagged some nitrous pickups as well as what appeared to be score multipliers.

　　Death Track isn't expected to be released until mid-2008, which is probably a good thing because the demo was a bit rough around the edges. The keyboard controls worked fine for basic maneuvers, but tight turns were difficult and controlling a car in midair didn't work very well. These issues led to several occasions where we were brought to a screeching halt by a seemingly innocuous encounter with a wall. There were also a few times when our car landed on its roof and just sat upside down for several seconds after a jump.

　　The game did have a nice frame rate, though there wasn't much going on to tax the graphics engine. The design of our car was cool, but it didn't cast a shadow on the road and there wasn't any car damage in place just yet.

　　Our brief experience with Death Track was underwhelming, but with so much time between now and the game's tentative release date, we're hopeful that 1C is able to realize the game's potential.