Screamer 4x4 offers 6 different (huge!) environments with many different courses on each for some wicked 4WD action. Think of
Screamer as
Smuggler's Run for the PC, but instead of 'running errands,' it's you against the clock (and other opponents). The heart of the game is essentially a Rally Race. Scattered throughout the huge 3D terrains will be sets of narrow checkpoints that must be navigated. Miss a checkpoint, and you are penalized. Hit a marker with one of your 10 licensed four-wheel drive vehicles, and also get set back in the standings. It takes a great measure of speed and caution to become a great driver in
Screamer.
Screamer 4x4 has many options for your driving excitement. Along with the 'Championship' mode, you also can choose to take a 'Free Drive,' work the 'Tutorial,' or practice in 'Trophy' mode. Also included is the 'Pathfinder' mode, which allows you to take on a race in which you must go through checkpoints scattered farther apart in the level than normal, letting you have more control over the path you choose to get to them. But you will be spending most of your time working your way through the ranks on your way to becoming the grand champion. Along the way you will be earning much needed upgrades to your vehicles, as well as the vehicles themselves. But certainly don't think it's a cakewalk, because you'll have to navigate some of the toughest crevices, water gullies, and near-vertical cliffs ever seen in a video game to date.
Along with the main single-player modes, Screamer 4x4 also features five multi-player modes with their own unique courses. 'Catch Up' is essentially a mode where terrain domination is key. Run over the markers and hold your position to win. 'Destruction' allows for some intense smash-em-up action. Destroy your opponent's car to win. 'First to Point' is exactly what it sounds like. Be the first to pick up poles to win. 'King of the Hill' is a mode of sheer, brute force. Just like you played as a child, the object is to push each other from the hill. And, finally, 'Off-Road Rally' is your basic race through circular tracks.
