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• Replay: N/A - it won't produce a complete lap
• Garage Settings: 1600 med tires/soft suspension
• Fast Lap to date: 4:39.89 by SLO_COPE
I’ve often wondered what inspires some people to make a track . . . one with a particular theme, I mean. ONaN has cranked out a ton of tracks, and he’s covered quite a few areas where theme is concerned. Since he’s been on BLS (Black Label Society) team he’s produced several tracks, with two of them (this one and Darkness Falls, released in October of last year) using hell as the focal point or theme, if you will. I can’t say for sure whether that’s a team thing, his general state of mind nowadays, or what lol. Truthfully it doesn’t really matter; I’m just having a little fun at ONaN’s expense. What does matter is this: One of the many great things about this game is when it comes to creating tracks/trucks, you’re only limited by your imagination. Most people know I’m not a track maker, but I sometimes wonder what it would be like to get inside the mind of guys like ONaN, Malibu350, Winterkill, Phineus, HotShoe, and the like . . . just to see what goes on in their heads. Course, I’ve also thought about getting trapped in there, only to discover that I have no way of getting out, which is pretty dang scary lol. My point is, and yes, I’ve made it before, but it’s been a while, so here it is again: Anyone can make a track. Heck I know I can make one, but guys like Guitar Bill (of course), ValveJob, Mal, ObeOne, HotShoe, Sir James, ZooN, Rocketalces, Yeastman, Wint, OOPS, Moparz, World, Enocell, Badger, mike204, S p r e k e r, Phin, Spaz, Gizmo, Duuks, Fila, PreaCheR, Inky, Finne . . . and a horde of others I didn’t mention, they all have the ability to “create”, and not everyone can do that. Plus, if you notice, the names are quite unique as well. I mean come on, can you imagine a lineup like this: Zoon, Winterkill, Enocell, Moparz, Duuks, ONaN, Spaz, Rocketalces, Malibu350, ValveJob, COPE . . . it just wouldn’t fit lol.
I suppose I could’ve said quite a few of our MTM compadres are gifted, extremely talented, but that’s just too easy lol. Some people have come to expect a little melodrama with these reviews, so I figure why not, what could it hurt? Besides, I’m usually not doing anything else at the time lol.
ONaN’s Electric Hellfire isn’t his most recent release, but at the same time, if you’ve never heard of it I suppose it’s new to you. I’m backtracking, catching up on tracks I’ve missed, so bare with me if ya would. Styles have sometimes defined track makers. But then you have guys that can do it all, varying their track styles & types immensely in such a way that you can’t tell who the author is. By in large if you come across an ONaN track you can tell it’s his. Overall his tracks are clean looking, have wide racing lanes, few if any shortcuts, and if it has models, most if not all will be custom made (and I’m talking top of line craftsmanship here) and smartly placed—not jammed-packed in the track like sardines. More often than not the color scheme is pretty . . . bold. That’s because he’s color blind. Either that or he uses it as an excuse to come up with these wild texture colors lol. Lastly, the layout is pretty straightforward–nothing radical. His work isn’t saturated with lots of nuances in the road or blind jumps where you have to be very familiar with the track just to avoid driving off a cliff or something along those lines. I’m not saying those kinds of tracks are bad, not at all; it’s just not his style. With ONaN you can pretty much jump in a truck and drive, rarely having to worry about surprises of any sort, which is one reason why his work is so popular.
That’s Electric Hellfire to a “T”. It’s nothing fancy really, save for the special effects (nifty lightning), but if you like the color red, you’ll definitely love this track lol. It’s raining, which is ok I suppose. Maybe it’s just me, but when I think of hell (which I don’t do often lol), I never picture it overcast and raining. If it does rain down there, I’m guessing the humidity is a killer lol. Actually the rain makes this track easier in a sense. There are areas where you’re traversing very uneven sections of the road that cause your truck to become momentarily airborne and off-balance. Ordinarily if you land and your truck isn’t centered, the road textures grab your tires causing your truck to turn awkwardly. In the rain, snow, and mud that effect is nullified, so unless you’re really butchering the track you shouldn’t have any trouble with that sort of thing. As I said, it’s typical for ONaN to have wide racing lanes, which is the case here, and that too is a plus in the rain; gives you more room for turning as you slide through the corners. If you start your turns reasonably early you’ll be fine, but if you wait ‘til the last minute, like any other track, you’ll more than likely pay a price.
The only thing I noticed worth pointing out that affects the racing is the groundbox you land on after checkpoint 12; it stops you cold. To overcome that nasty little effect, hold your brakes so that you slide through via a wheelie or press F4 just after the race starts and run the track in software mode. The last option is to let off the gas just before the jump in an attempt to miss the seam on the landing, but booooooooooy oh boy . . . if you let off too early, you’re not going be real happy with the results lol.
I like this track. I can’t say that I’m a big fan of themes based on or inspired by demons, hell, and the like, but that’s just a product of free expression I suppose, and that’s fine. The bottom line is the track itself is fun, not overly demanding at all, and it’s kind of cool sliding around the corners. It’s fun for any level of play, as well as a good track to learn how to effectively power slide. It’s not ONaN’s best, but it’s certainly not his worst either, thus it earns a very respectable 8.5 out of 10 possible points on the Copey Rating scale.
Nice job, Nick! Say . . . what’s with all the demon stuff anyway? Is BLS forcing you to switch over to the dark side or something? Fess up, man – the world wants to know lol.
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