Take It To The Extreme With” Xtreme Racing ” On The Amiga

The Amiga was truly ahead of its time—while other systems were still catching up, it was already delivering groundbreaking experiences. But as the years passed, progress stalled. Despite a strong lineup of exclusive titles and system sellers, platforms like the SNES, Sega Genesis, and the PC started gaining serious momentum, delivering a new wave of impressive games, Super Mario Kart on the SNES being one of the standouts.

Xtreme Racing is one of the very few Mario Kart-inspired games ever released for the Amiga. The reason? Technical limitations. Creating a fast-paced, Mode 7-style racer without dedicated hardware acceleration was no easy feat. The standard Amiga 500 and even the A1200 just weren’t built for that kind of graphical demand, making Xtreme Racing all the more impressive.

The Fantastic Looking Box…

One of the most fascinating things about the Amiga was its untapped potential. Many believed certain types of games—like DOOM, Quake, or even XTR and Breathless—were simply impossible to run on the platform. But time and time again, dedicated developers proved otherwise. With enough passion, skill, and a deep understanding of the hardware, they managed to pull off what once seemed unthinkable—bringing full 3D experiences to a machine never truly designed for them.

The Vehicles…

Xtreme Racing (XTR) hit the Amiga scene in 1995—right on time—and was met with rave reviews. It was exactly what many Amiga gamers had been craving: a Mario Kart-style racer packed with charm, features, and surprisingly solid production values.

However, the hardware requirements were steep. At launch, only a handful of Amiga users had the kind of setup needed to run it smoothly. Thankfully, the developers were smart about it—they included a wide range of options for resolution, draw distance, camera angles, and overall quality. This meant that even standard AGA machines could run the game at a decent frame rate with the right tweaks.

The Stuff Inside The Box Wasn’t All That, Well Except For The Game Itself That Is…

When XTR was released, I had a Blizzard 060 card in my A1200, so I was able to play the game at its max settings from day one. And let me tell you—it looked incredible for its time.

I remember spending hours with a friend, comparing Mario Kart and XTR, eventually diving into both games for long play sessions. In the end, XTR became our favourite of the two.

The Features, The Stuff That Made It Special…

While both games might seem similar at first glance in terms of gameplay, XTR really sets itself apart with a wealth of additional features.

• A full track construction set

• An SFX creation tool

• A sound creation set

• True 8-player multiplayer mode

• Null modem & modem support

• Tons of tracks, vehicles, and unique features

• Fun weapons, including a nod to Sheep Racing

• A Lemmings-themed tribute

• Plenty of tracks and action in both the Campaign and Cup modes

And that’s just scratching the surface! XTR really went above and beyond in delivering a complete experience.

Added Some Small Animated GIFS For You Guys…

A lot of people failed to understand how to set up XTR for the best framerate and graphics, and took it for a 2×2 (or worse) pixel mes,s even though they might have had the hardware to play it in a much better resolution, why you might wonder, well this wasn’t really a common thing on Amiga until a few years later and as you can still see today in many YouTube videos of this and other games, lot’s of people still got no clue or idea that it is possible.

Alive Software’s Illegally Distributed Ultimate Xtreme Racing…

When XTR first launched, I was so hooked on it that I ended up taking several days off work—I was simply too exhausted from staying up all night playing.

Eventually, my friends and I decided to dive into track creation, and that’s where the real fun began. We crafted everything from soundtracks and sound effects to speech and track designs, complete with proper tiles. We then uploaded our creations to Aminet. I can’t remember how many tracks we made, but I started back in 1996, and my last upload was in 2005.

It’s a real shame XTR never gained the attention it deserved. While it did reasonably well and sold decently over time, it never quite reached the recognition it should have.

The Verdict…

XTR had three versions created. The first two were official releases from Black Magic and Siltunna. The third version, however, was never properly released, and I’m not entirely sure why. The good news is that I managed to grab a copy before it vanished into obscurity. This version, called Ultimate Xtreme Racing, was a CD-only release. Most of its extras were downloadable from sites like Aminet, and while it’s rare, it’s also unfortunate that many of the copies floating around today are fake, thanks to a certain reseller in England (amigagames.co.uk).

One thing is clear: XTR came out two years too late. Had it been released in 1993, I’m sure it would have garnered much more attention and hype.

XTR remains one of the best Amiga games to this day.

Check out this YouTube Video, a friend of mine recorded this ages ago.