You know, I’ve never done a review on any of this guys work, and that’s a shame, for his influence on this game is rather significant. To compensate, I’m going to touch on several of Finne’s tracks, but the focus will ultimately be based on his latest production, “Only For Speeding Lunatics”.
Have you ever noticed how some screen actors/actresses get typecast? For the “unaware” it simply means they seem to only fit in one, maybe two kinds of roles. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because for those that do what they do well, it’s great. I think Finne falls into that category. He has a specific style, and if you’re a racing fanatic like myself, you can pick out one of his tracks about 9 times out of 10!
For beginners looking to hone basic cornering skills, I would recommend two tracks by Finne: "Step On It!!" & "Floor It, Man!!" The first track has all right-hand turns and the second consist of all left-hand turns. A decent time on Floor It is around 1:11 (1600 w/med tires—soft suspension), but to achieve such a time your cornering has to be fairly precise. If you’re just starting out, spend a week practicing these tracks; I promise you your cornering technique on just about any track out there will markedly improve. See, you guys probably thought Finne’s elevator didn’t go all the way to the top floor, but I’m thinking he had a plan with that left/right turn thing.
If you’re a friend of speed, then Finne is the guy you want. He is the absolute master of hi-velocity oriented tracks – no doubt about it. He does have a few tracks that are…well, somewhat different from what most would consider the norm from him. “Go Fast Young Man is an excellent track, as is Pine Run. Both are more along the “traditional genre” (if you will) of MTM 2 racetracks. If you didn’t know they were Finne’s, you wouldn’t be able to tell by their style/layout because they’re very much unlike what we’re used to seeing from him. However, the banked turns in Pine Run could prompt one to go, “Hmmmmmm…” His “Very Long Silly Rally” is an absolute monster! It looks as though he went nutso with an Etch-A-Sketch when you enable the map for that track. The same holds true for "King Sized Nut Rally" and "Finnesane Rally", although neither are quite as extreme as VLSR.
Only For Speeding Lunatics has lots of speed, some serious banked curves, and he's got the burgundy overhead platforms going with the long supporting columns. It’s classic Finne!! Like "Jumping Screwballs" and "Top Speed Track", the sheer pace draws you in, hooks you, and when it’s all over, you want to crank it up again!! Overall there’s really not a whole lot to say about this track, and that’s not a bad thing. He accomplished what I feel was his objective, which was to give us a fast-paced track that’s fun for all. It’s totally void of acute angles/turns, yet in order to run it well it does require some measure of effort & skill. This one earns a “Copey Rating” of….9!
For the most part this guy very well could’ve made it easy on himself as far as track names are concerned. Titles like, “Kinda Fast”, “Dang Fast & Curvy” “Real Fast”, Sorta Fast, But Not as Fast As My Last One,” and as a change up, “Run Like the Wind” would’ve been perfect for his tracks.
Finne, I very much admire your work, bud. If you’re ever in town, stop by the Zone so we can run a few of your tracks! Food and drinks are compliments of Phin! Oh and hey, don’t bother to thank him – that’s just the kinda guy he is. Hehehe
Edited (04-11-2002) by SLO_COPE
